Into Reality: The Beginning
by yugiblade
Summary: The YuGiOh Anime/Manga is a TV show and a card game. But what if it's actually more than that? It is time for us to start at the beginning; at the Dawn of 'The Duel', where magical history meets logical reality. Let the Chaos begin.
1. Chapter 1

"Stop!" Yelled the Pharaoh, as Bakura retreated from the thrown room. "We must not let him escape!" Auknadin said "Guards, AFTER HIM!" "YES SIR!" Seto watched as the King ran to the balcony, overseeing the city in flames_. Bakura withstood the attack of the Pharaoh's Egyptian god. _Seto thought._ With that much power, how is it possible to stop him? _Mahad and Seto walked up to the Pharaoh. "My King, you fought bravely." Mahad said. "Yes," agreed Seto. "Thanks to you we can all rest well." He gave a bow.

After Mahad left with his Highness, Seto walked over to Shada, Karim, and Isis. "Had the Pharaoh not stepped in, we would have been done for." The others nodded in agreement. Seto watched Auknadin talking with the guards near the thrown as Karim spoke. "What do you suppose we should do? Our monsters didn't stand a chance, so how will we fend him off the next time he strikes?" "I don't know," said Isis "but if I look into the future, surely we will have a better chance than we did tonight."

Late into the night, Isis continually called to the future through her necklace, but it did not respond to her commands. She, along with the rest of the guardians were in the High Priest Court Hall, sitting at the round table in the center of the room. "So you can't see anything?" Shada Asked. Isis shook her head. "Nothing but shadows." "Hmm…" Auknadin leaned forward and let his head rest on his hands. "Perhaps if I cast a spell, your vision could see past the shadows." Mahad suggested. Why not? Since nothing else was working, Auknadin said they might as well try it. So Mahad cast the spell:

". . . ."

With his eyes closed and his item glowing, Mahad Activated the Millennium necklace on his own. As her item began to glow, Isis closed her eyes. Shada and the others looked on; would this work? Everyone was tired, so as they waited, the 4 other Guardians closed their eyes from exhaustion. All was quiet.

Something was amiss. The Millennium necklace wasn't showing a vision, but Isis felt its power working. _Perhaps Mahad's spell didn't work. _She thought. Isis was so tired, that she didn't feel Mahad's hand leave her shoulder.

Hours passed.

"Isis, wake up." Mahad gave her a light nudge. "Unn." she grunted sleepily. Isis blinked. "I'm sorry…" she said, "I must have dozed off. I guess the spell didn't work." "That's alright," He said "we'll worry about that later." "?"Isis thought for a moment…. _Wait. Wasn't I just in a chair? Why am I on the floor?_ Isis watched as Mahad stood up and walked over to Karim, who was also asleep on the floor… and shook him. Isis looked around to find the rest of the guardians in the same condition. An annoyed grunt came from a sleeping Seto, witch awoke Shada, who was next to him.

Shada grazed his hand over the ground. _Grass?_ Looking around, Shada saw a strange sight. "What strange structures.." he said, looking at the houses lined out in front of him. Seto rolled over. Karim helped Auknadin up. "Mahad…" Seto Grumbled. "What did you do?"

They took it all in: Many different structures with different shapes (houses), tall trees, giant birds (air plains), and a strange winding black river of mud (a blacktop street). Karim dared to touch the black river with his foot. "What is it?" Seto asked. "I don't know, but it's firm… so it's not a river." Karim replied. "Perhaps it's a road?" Isis suggested, standing completely on the strange substance. "It matters not what it is," Auknadin said "What matters is how we got here." "Indeed." Said Seto "I'd like an explanation Mahad. What happened?" He glared at Mahad, who glared back. "How should I know? What I cast was merely a temporary power enhancement spell… It couldn't of done this." "Well of course it couldn't have." Seto replied sarcastically. Angrily, Mahad marched toward Seto, but Karim held him back. "I DIDN'T DO THIS SETO!" "Alright, that's quite enough." Auknadin said in a stern voice. "We're all just tired. I'm sure theirs a logical explanation… But we must not fight among ourselves, or our situation will become worse." Karim nodded in agreement, letting go of Mahad.

_West Georgia Av._

Your typical two floor white house. Brown door, Grey roof, two really big windows in the front room, and an 18-year-old girl with curly red hair and Blonde streaks. Samantha, also known as Sam.

"For the last time, I'm fine!" Sam said into the Phone. "I've got stuff for cooking, emergency money and phone numbers, and a fire extinguisher, so I won't burn the house down! " She paced back and forth in the kitchen. Her family was off at a wedding, she refused to go…the woman her cousin was marring was a bitch.

"Yes, I will call if there's trouble…" Her left eye twitched, as if she had said it a million times before. "no, no…I have to go. Kattie will be here soon, were gonna Duel, so I gotta practice! … b-…Okay, Bye!" Sam hung up with a Sigh. Sam was a senior, and a gamer. She loved to play Yu-Gi-Oh, and watch the show. Having seen every episode about 4 times, Sam knew the whole story of the Pharaoh, his real name, and everything else. Kattie Liked Yu-Gi-Oh too, but just not as much… and sometimes acted too girly for Sam to stand. Like what happened next, for instance.

The phone rang, Kattie was calling. "What? What do you mean your not coming today?"

"I dropped my minni makeup bag in the tub when I was gonna take a shower this morning. All my makeup is ruined! I can't leave the house without makeup on.." She wined.

"But we we're just gonna duel, you don't need makeup."

"Yes I do! Other people will see me on the way to your house!"

Sam sighed. "So I guess this means no dueling sleepover, or Yu-G-Oh marathon till 3am." "I'm Sorry." Kattie wined

"Don't worry about it. Just go buy some new makeup…"

hanging up the Phone, Samantha went into the living room. Opening the window, she grabbed the remote and plopped on the couch. Sam turned on the TV to a Law and Order episode. Things weren't going as she had planed.

It was a rerun. She had seen this episode a million times. So Sam turned off the TV. Searching the house, Sam found some old nCD's. Completely board, she popped in the Frank Sinatra classic.

"… My story , is much too sad to be told. But practically everything, leaves me totally cold… the only exception I know is the case… when I'm out on a quiet spree, fighting vainly, the olden way… and I suddenly turn, and see… YOUR FABULOUS FACE…"

"I get no Kick from sham Paine… Mere alcohol, doesn't thrill me at all… so tell me, why should it be true…that I get a Kick out of you…"

Isis heard singing. "Do you hear that?" the guardians paused. Shada turned toward the music. "it's coming from over there, in that building." He said as he pointed to the house across the street.

They saw a shadow move across the window inside. Karim thought for a moment. Then he spoke. "Perhaps we should ask some of these villagers where we are." "I agree." Seto said. Because the 6 didn't see anyone else, they moved toward the music.

SKREEEEEEEEECH!

Sam heard a car slam on its brakes. Switching off the music, she heard someone yelling out side: "Watch where you're walking!" Sam looked out the window.

The 6 Guardians were terrified and confused. They didn't know WHAT that THING was…but inside it was a person, who was yelling at them for "not watching where they were going." So as not to get hit, they had all jumped back off the road, and were all laying on the ground. Isis was griping Mahad's shirt. They were all speechless.

"HEY IS EVERYONE ALRIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED?" Sam came running down the driveway. The man in the car saw her and was about to drive away, but she stopped and stood in front of the car. "HOLD IT!" She yelled at the man "I could hear you yelling from inside my house! If anyone wasn't watching where they were going, it's you!" "Get out of the street kid." the man said, revving his engine. The Guardians jumped at the sound, but Samantha didn't. "To make your brakes stop and make that loud of a noise, you had to be going at least 50 MPH… the limit is here is 25." She glanced down at the license plate. "feh." The man scoffed. "I don't give a shit." Tightly turning his wheel, he sped around Sam and out of sight. She sighed, and turned to the people on the ground. "Are you all alright?" Sam blinked, in complete shock. _OMG! They're Yu-Gi-Oh Cos-players! No way… and they're costumes are totally realistic!_ A big smile went across her face. Holding her hand out to Isis, Sam helped her up. "I'm so sorry, none of you are hurt are you?" "N-No, were all fine. Thank you." Mahad said, getting to his feet. _Whoa. _Sam thought._ They even sound like the real thing._ "What was that monstrosity?" Seto said. "Monstrosity?" Sam repeated. "What, that car? It wasn't really that big… it was a 4X4 pickup truck." They all just stared at her blankly. What was she talking about? Shada tried to stand, but fell back. "Aah!" He winced, grabbing his ankle. "What's wrong, Shada?" Karim asked. _Looks like he twisted his ankle._ Samantha thought. "Here." She said. "Let me help you."

"Well, make yourselves at home." Sam said. The Pharaoh's court cautiously entered the house. They all gathered in the inside of the doorway, looking around at the strange objects in the room. A limping Shada cringed as he put weight on his ankle. "Why don't you all sit down?" Sam suggested, gesturing to the two sofas. As the Group settled down in their seats, (Being surprised how comfy they were) Sam asked them if they would like some water. "If it's not too inconvenient…" Seto said. Sam came back with a tray of water glasses, and an ice pack for Shada. After handing everyone their glasses, Sam handed Shada the ice pack. "Here. Hold this on your ankle, it will stop it from swelling. " Shada flinched. "It's cold!" "That's the point. The cold helps against the swelling. You should also try not to put weight on it for a while, doing that could damage it more." Samantha walked into the connected kitchen, and picked up the Phone. As the phone buttons beeped under her fingers, Karim asked her a question. "what's that?" Sam looked up. "Oh, I'm just going to contact my dad to report that guy that almost hit you. He's a Police officer." Sam put the phone to her ear. "Dad? It's me. Yah, I'm fine… " " So that thing allows her to contact people in other villages? I've never heard of such an item." Mahad said.

As Sam gave her dad the license plate number of the 4X4, the guardians sipped their water. It was cold, and tasted really good.

After Samantha Clicked off the phone, she called to them in the other room. "I've been wanting to ask you something… are you all on your way to an Anime Convention?" "A … what?" replied Seto. " Never mind." _I guess I'll take that as a no. _Sam came back into the room. " I haven't really introduced myself, have I? My Name is Samantha." "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Samantha, and thank you for helping us." Replied Auknadin. "I am Auknadin. This is Mahad, Isis, Seto, Shada…" He gestured to each. "… and Karim. We are guardians of the King of Egypt. Perhaps you've heard of our country?" "Uh,… Yes…"She replied unsurely. _Wha?… They actually think they're the Pharaoh's court? Okay… Creepy. _"So, uh, if you're from Egypt, then how did you get here? Because… E-Egypt is like, on the other side of the planet…" Isis Choked on her water, and then gasped: "T-The other side of the world?" Seto Glared at Mahad again. "well Mahad, you sent us to the other side of the world…so for your sake, you better fix this, or-" "For the last time, it wasn't me!" Mahad yelled. "Alright, that's enough… Both of you!" Auknadin stopped them before they started to fight again. "Pardon these two, they've been at each others necks ever since we got here."

Sam was getting a little frightened… she had let these people into her house, and they thought they were the actual anime characters. That didn't exactly seem sane to her. Karim saw the strange look on her face. " … Miss Samantha, I also apologize, if we have scared you." She flinched. "eh, heh heh.." Sam Laughed awkwardly. "Um, would you please excuse me for a moment?" Sam went and grabbed the phone, and went upstairs to the bathroom and shut the door. "Have I said something wrong?" Karim asked the others. Shada sighed. "How would we know if we did?"

"Kattie! Is Kattie there?" Sam whispered into the phone. All she got was the answering machine. It beeped. "Damit! Kattie, it's Sam. I think I'm in trouble here! I have people in my house that really think they're the Pharaoh's guardians from the Dawn of the Duel saga! No joke! I thought they were on their way to a convention, but now they're creeping me out! Should I call 911? Hurry up and call back! I'm not kidding!" Sam clicked off the phone. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked back down stairs.

"Sorry I left so suddenly, had to check on something." When Sam came down, Karim, Mahad and Seto stood up and apologized for upsetting her. _Well they're nice, so I guess they won't hurt me… _She thought. They thanked her and were about to leave, but when Shada was about to get up, she stopped them. Shada winced as he but his weight on his foot. Quickly, Sam went over and pushed him back on the couch. "Wait a minute… I just said putting weight on your Ankle would make it worse. If you need to leave, let me call someone to come and help you." In Egypt, a woman pushing a man off his feet, could be taken in the "wrong way", or possibly offensive. In this case it was thought of in both ways. Shada Flushed, and Seto grabbed Sam's Arm. "How Dare you shove a member of the sacred court! No Peasant is allowed to touch a Guardian!" Sam was scared, but stood up to Seto. "I'm just trying to help. He has a twisted Ankle, and should not stand on it. And don't you dare call ME a peasant… when you're the ones who think your people who don't exist!" There was a quiet moment. " Now let go."

Seto didn't let go, he just stared blankly. "Seto… Let go. please." Samantha said calmly. If they truly were crazy, she must not completely freak out… she read in a book that that would make it worse. "what… do you mean?" Seto asked. "The Sacred Court: Seto, Karim, Isis, Shada, Mahad and Auknadin…they aren't real! They're characters, people in a story…they ever existed. Not here… in this – reality. Besides, even if they did, the time period they would of lived in was 5000 years ago…FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AGO! There is no way… you are who you say you are."

None of them spoke or moved. Sam just glared at Seto in a defensive manor, who still had a firm grip on her arm. After a minute or so, Auknadin touched Seto's shoulder. "Seto, you need to let go. " Loosening his grip, Samantha pulled her arm away, rubbing the place he had squeezed her arm. "This doesn't make cense." Karim said. "How can we not exist when were standing right here?" Isis sighed in agreement, and sat down again. Mahad pondered for a moment. "Perhaps we've entered an alternate reality. Many magicians have supported and studied the concept…" Sam just backed up, away from them. With the phone still in her other hand, she started to dial the neighbors for help. "what are you doing?" Mahad asked. "Calling my friends to come. I don't trust any of you." "Wait." Isis put her hand over the phone. "What if we can prove ourselves?"

Sam sighed. It wouldn't work, but she might as well let them, so they could see for them selves. Nodding, she spoke. "Fine. If you are who you say, then you will be able to activate your millennium items, which makes them glow. There is no magic on this planet, so doing that will prove me wrong, and I'll believe you." Seto smirked. "Is that all?" Holding out his millennium rod, he made the eye on it glow. Shada made his key do the same, and the others fallowed. Sam's eyes didn't widen, but her hand made it up to her mouth. After it sunk into her mind, a smile spread across her face. Being the ultimate Yu-Gi-Oh fan, Sam was totally freaked, but in the good way. It took all she had to not scream. Instead, she laughed to herself, and said "I believe you… Welcome you our world, Guardians of the Pharaoh."

"I've made you some sandwiches." Samantha came into the living room with a big plate full of food. The Guardians were all sitting, and talking through what happened. "Perhaps Bakura was still in the Palace, and interfered with Mahad's spell." Shada suggested, still holding the ice pack to his ankle. Samantha passed out the sandwiches, as she listened to their conversation. "If that is the case, then he could still be there now, and we aren't there to protect the Pharaoh." Karim said. "Or it's possible that he was transported here as well." Seto added. "Bakura?" Samantha asked. "The King of Thief's Bakura? Is he here too?" "You know of Bakura Miss Samantha?" Auknadin asked. "Y-Yes… He's the one after your millennium items, and wants to take revenge for his villagers. Right?" "Correct, but how do you know that?" Isis asked. "I told you, I remember the story of what happened. " _But I don't think I should tell them everything I know, or it might change their history… in a bad way. After all… the Auknadin in front of me becomes even more evil than Bakura, and might use this information against them later. _"According to a tablet that was found from your era, Bakura tried to steal the Items, and also release Zorc- the dark one, the embodiment of pure darkness. He said he was doing it to avenge his fellow villagers in Kul Elna, But really was just using it as an excuse to almost single handedly destroy the world, and bring all of man kind bowing at his feet." "Do you remember how the battle ended?" Auknadin asked. "No, I don't." She lied. "Well no matter what, we have to get back as soon as we can, because our King is now unprotected." Seto commented. "Actually," Mahad brought up "according to the research of our past sorcerers, while in a different reality, our normal world's time stops." Samantha handed Shada his sandwich. "Thank you, Samantha." She smiled, and went back into the kitchen, to call and tell her friend to ignore her previous message and that everything was fine. Sort of.

During the day, as the Guardians tried to figure out how to get home, Samantha got about 5 more calls from her family. As the day ended, Sam (Samantha) decided that the guardians might as well stay at her house overnight. She set up 5 sleeping areas in the house, and because her mom and dad were out of town, Isis got to use their bedroom. "Tell me, Miss Samantha." Asked Mahad as Sam set up the sofa for him. "Does your village have any of the records of the battle? Or perhaps any spell books?" Samantha put a blanket on the sofa. "I doubt it, but if we do, it's at our library. Although, I'm positive we don't have any spell books. I could take you their tomorrow if you like." "Thank you." "How is your ankle feeling?" she asked Shada, who was lying on the other sofa. "It feels fine for now." She smiled "good. Sleep well."

Samantha walked upstairs to her room. She was beat. She had biked to the store to buy more food, and to her friend's house to get some old cookbooks that would have ideas that would suit the Guardians tastes. She plopped on the bed. She picked up her deck from the side table. She had filled it with most of her favorite cards: The Dark Magicians, Queen, King, and Jacks night, Marshmellon, and even two of Magician's Valkyria… along with some others. She had collected some of her favorite Yugi, Kaiba, and Atem cards. Now that some of the characters appeared, would the game be real too? Samantha picked out her Marshmellon, Holding out the card the same dramatic way that Yugi did. "I summon Marshmellon." She whispered. Nothing glowed, and no monster appeared. Sam looked at the card. "Ah!" Inside the picture, Marshmellon was bouncing around, trying to get out. "EEK!" she gave out a little squeak, and quickly put the card back. _I'm just tired; after all, it's One in the morning._ Samantha turned off the light, and was asleep in seconds. But out side her window, something big shifted down the street in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2 'The Library'

In the morning, Sam thought it had all been a dream. She left her bed and got dressed. Tying her hair up and putting her makeup on, she went down stairs to make coffee… and almost had a heart attack. Mahad and Shada were still asleep on her sofa's… but she had thought that they never REALLY came at all. After all, it had just been dream. Peeking down the basement stairs, she saw the other 3 were still asleep too. Having a fangirl moment, Sam went and got her digital camera. Making sure the flash was off, she took pictures of the Guardians sleeping. She did not know what she would say to them if they woke up, but it didn't matter because they wouldn't know what a camera was anyway. Sam decided that she would upload the pictures now, so she sneaked the laptop up to her room. They were totally going into her digital photo album!

About 25 minutes later, there was a knock on her door. With the laptop already shut down and put away, Sam opened the door. "Isis?" she asked. "Is something wrong?" "Pardon me…" she said. " Would you happen to have any facial paints? Or perhaps powders? It is important that a woman of the Sacred Court keep her appearance clean cut and formal at all times… I cannot show my face to the rest until-" "Don't worry; I have some you can use. Please, come in." Isis walked into Sam's room. "Your room is very pretty, Miss Samantha." Pulling out her makeup bag, she replied: "thanks." She poured out the bag onto her nightstand, sorting the eye shadow from the mascara, eyeliner and base. "I have a lot, so I'm sure there's something here that suits your tastes." Isis just looked. "I don't know what some of these are." "Then would you like me to help you?" Samantha asked. Isis smiled. "Thank you. I actually haven't put it on myself before, usually some else has done it for me." _Oh, right… _ Sam thought. _She is royalty after all…_ "Well then, pick out what you want to use… these colors are for the eye lid, these are for the skin, and these outline the eyes and facial features." "Oh my… well, I must say I like the color on your eyes… which one of these did you use?"

All the makeup tips Sam got from Kattie paid off. Sam never thought she would put them to use. When Isis and Samantha came down stairs, the others were still asleep. Sam started some coffee and toast. She showed Isis where the glasses were, and showed her how to use the water filter build into the fridge. Isis got 7 glasses of water, (proud of herself for using the new water contraption) and put them on the kitchen table. The smell of the Ham that Samantha was cooking (Reheating) on the stove finally woke the men up. "Good morning." Isis said as the 5 entered the room. They saw her makeup. "Isis, you look very radiant today." Auknadin said. What Sam had done was take a light brown eye shadow, and put it on the inside of Isis's Eye lids, and had it fade away into a light silver that came off her eye alongside the black eye liner that was the traditional Egyptian design. "Thank you, Master Auknadin." Sam was the only one who saw Mahad's face flush. That's what she thought would happen… after all, she already knew of Mahad's crush.

After eating, Samantha wrapped Shada's ankle for support… making it easier for him to move around without hurting himself. Now… Sam had planed to take Mahad to the Library, however, taking them ALL is what she figured would happen… so she brought out a 200 piece jigsaw puzzle. She explained to them how to fit the pieces together, and showed them what the picture should look like in the end: Three horses galloping in a field. Sam told them if they needed something to do… should they need to take a break from planning their way home, they could use the puzzle. So, after Mahad explained that he would go searching for some spell books with Samantha, the two left… and the rest took up the challenge of the puzzle.

Mahad was very cautious walking down the sidewalk. Every time a car drove by, he jumped. Samantha didn't blame him either. When they got there, Mahad was amazed. "All these books… are all the villagers allowed to come here? Only those of the court can view any of ours." Sam nodded. Mahad looked around. "I don't suppose you know where to find what were looking for?" "No…" she said. "But I know how to find out." Sitting down at one of the computers, she typed in a search for Egyptian magic. "Tell me, what is this?" He asked. "This is a computer. It holds the records of where different types of books are. It will help us find anything close to or exactly what we're looking for." Mahad just watched Samantha press different symbols and they came up on the monitor. He could not read them, nor anything else on the screen. In the mean time, other people were staring at Mahad, and little kids were pointing. Mahad understood. He was dressed differently than them, so it was natural.

"Here we are." Samantha said, pointing to a group of books. "Let's see… this one's called: Magic of Ancient Egypt." She handed it to Mahad. Opening it and flipping through the pages, he said "I can't read it." _Oh…oops._ Mahad gave the book to her. "Could you read it to me?" "Sure." Samantha flipped to the Index. "Is there anything you are specifically looking for?" "Not really." He replied. Sam sighed. _This is going to take a while._

After about an hour and a half of searching, they had only found 1 book that had anything to do with what Mahad needed: which turned out to be different kinds of spells… the rest were all Egyptian history books, and had nothing to do with Bakura… so Sam didn't push him about the rest of the history. _Last thing I want to do is rewrite history and accidentally destroy the world as we know it. I have to be careful of what information he gets, yet give him info that he can use… which means also keeping him away from the Manga section. Good grief…_

Two MORE hours later, the pair hadn't found much more. Sitting in the chairs, Samantha sighed. "Two books are all we found… after all that time." _And the other one is just a translation book of the Egyptian language to the English language. Mahad must want to be able to read the books himself. _Mahad was frustrated. "How can that be all your library has? There is much more spells and history to our country than that. " "Mahad, please keep your voice down." She whispered. "I'm sorry, Miss Samantha… It's just that, I'm being blamed for this predicament… and because I'm the only spellcaster among us, it is up to me to find a spell to take us home." "I understand," She said. "And I am also sorry that I am not of much help, but…Honored to have the chance to try." After a moment, Mahad said "I am pleased you think so highly of us, although I personally do not see myself as honorable, Miss Samantha." She just looked at him. _I think I know why. _"I hope it's not because Bakura got past your security. I mean, there is know way you could have possibly known someone like him would come and attack you." "HMM?" Mahad looked at her with questions. "How do you know that I am in charge of palace security?" "Oh, it was just part of what I remember from the… "Story" I heard about: the battle against Bakura." "If that's the case… are you really telling us everything you know?" Sam paused. "You already know how the Millennium items were created, right?" Mahad nodded. "Then yes." Sam crossed her fingers behind her back. _I know I'm lying, but it's for their own good._

Walking back with Mahad was different than the way there. Mahad was looking through the language translation book they had checked out, and just glanced at the cars as they passed. It was Quiet the whole way. Sam didn't want to look at Mahad, because she felt really bad about having to lie to him… and the others. _I REEEALLY want to tell them what happens, but that might change what actually went down… and if the past is changed to where the Pharaoh never gets sealed in the Millennium Puzzle, then he never meets Yugi. And then the Pharaoh isn't there to save the world again (AND there's no story line, by the way ). . . . . . . . . . . .I feel like I'm going insane . . . . . . . . . . It was nice before I actually met them. Then, it was just a story, and I didn't have to worry about anything…and Bakura was a pretty cool character. But now . . . . . I've gotten a little attached to them._

Mahad looked up from the book. He could see Samantha was lost in her own world.

_I know what will happen to all of I know "All things happen for a reason", but… I don't want to see them die now… now that I met them._

"Is something troubling you, Miss Samantha?" Mahad asked. She blinked. "Hmm? Oh, no… nothing." "Oh? But there's a tear on your face." Samantha hadn't noticed. Great. She had to fib her way out of explaining again. Touching her face, she smiled. " I didn't notice. I guess something got in my eye… I wasn't paying attention." _Hmm… _Mahad was debating her answer.

Back at the house, Mahad reported their findings. It wasn't much, but they would at least have a place to START looking for answers. However, Sam was given the duty of translating to them… EVERYTHING in the books. As for the Jigsaw puzzle, they had gotten about half way done by the time Mahad and Sam got back.

"So there IS a spell that transports through different times and dimensions." Shada said. "Correct. But this book has little about the spell, and doesn't say much about the one who created it. So basically, it says that our magic is nothing but fantasy." Mahad said, a bit upset. "Are you sure that's all there was?" Seto asked. "Yes. We would have found more, if there was more." Samantha said. Seto grunted, and leaned back on the sofa. "So what should we do now?" Karim asked. "Isn't it obvious?" Seto said. "We find that Spell." But Shada wasn't sure. "But Seto, where do we start?

As the Guardians argued it out, Samantha went outside to get the mail. Walking down to the mail box, she pulled out the usual bill and adds. Typical stuff. Sam heard a big truck roll by, so out of instinct, she turned towards the noise. West Georgia Av. was a long street that intersected a busy, downtown road at the far end. As she looked down the street, she caught a glimpse of a man walking past the intersection, down the busy street. He was tan, wearing red, and…_Oh. My. god…White hair…_Sam quickly ran inside. Normally, she would fangirl over Bakura, but now that he was a real threat, she was scared.


	3. Chapter 3 'Rain'

Samantha decided not to tell them about Bakura. At the moment, they were stressed out enough… Besides, Bakura wouldn't know they were there if he couldn't see them, so Sam kept the blinds closed. That night, Sam waited until she thought everyone was asleep. When all was quiet, she left her room and went out the hallway window, climbing onto the roof. She always did that when she wanted to think. She was scared, but she new that Bakura wouldn't target her if she wasn't one of the Guardians.

Just sitting there thinking, Sam watched the clouds roll by. She stayed on the roof like that, hugging her knees to her chest. _I bet my family is having a good time, with that creepy, stupid, shallow woman my cousin is marrying. And here I am, either going half insane, or just having a bad week. _"Miss Samantha?" said a voice. "What are you doing out there?" "Shada?" Sam was surprised. She crawled over to the window, "Is something wrong Shada?" she asked quietly. "May I join you?" He asked.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"How is your ankle?" She asked. "Better. Thank you." He replied, sitting down next to her. "So what brings you up here?" Shada asked. "I just come up here to relax. I have for years now. What about you? Why are you here?" "Well," he said. "Perhaps to just get some fresh air. After all, I've been inside all day. I'm use to being able to wander the palace courtyard." For a moment there was silence. "May I ask you a question?" Sam said "Of corse." Shada replied. "What… duties do you have as one in the sacred court?" She knew they protected the Pharaoh, but that was all. "The duties of a member of the court are to protect the king at all times and at all costs. We must deal with the wicked and release their souls from evil…" It was like he was reciting a law, the way Shada spoke. "We members of the court must also deal with external affairs, such as trade and relations, to keep the peace throughout the land- and make sure all is ruled with justice." Then his voice went back to its normal tone. "I am the Kings negotiator. It is on my shoulder to keep the peace on both sides, weather it be between Egypt and another land, between villages, or between people in the court." "Um…" A comment arose in Sam's throat, but she bit her tongue to keep it in. "Yes?" Shada asked. Sam didn't want to insult anyone, so she worded it the best she could. "Your job must be hard. From my point of view, it could be the hardest, because- no offence is meant- but it seems that… Seto likes to argue a lot more than the rest of you." There, she said it. She expected a scolding for saying such a thing. "You're very observant." Shada said. Surprisingly, a tiny smirk arose on his face, and a chuckle escaped his mouth. "I suppose I DO have the hardest job, I have to put up with Seto the most." The Tension ceased. "Yes, it tends to be hard, trying to keep all people in each situation happy." His gaze went to the sky. "All the national situations have to go through me, before they reach the Pharaoh. I analyze the situations, and bring them before the court, so as to get a second opinion. Only occasionally do we have a disagreement, and yes, it's normally Seto who disagrees. When it comes to physical conduct being used as a way to settle the issues, Seto agrees on fighting our enemies instead of talking it out peacefully. He prefers brute force over wisdom and compassion." Sam thought to herself: _Seto as a compassionate person…ha! That would be the day pigs fly. _Instantly Sam a vision of Seto holding a rose and acting like Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club… and suppressed a laugh. "I understand." Is all she could say without laughing at her mental image. Shada looked at her. "What?" she asked. "Not many woman in our country understand what must happen with our Government in order to keep order. The only one I know who understands is Isis." "Oh, I see… in this country everyone my age has at least a little knowledge of our Government workings. We learn most of it from our school classes." "Classes?" he asked. "Classes are like… training." "Do you have a magic class?"

"No. The closest thing we have to that is Psychology class, where we learn how to "mess with peoples minds", and how the human brain actually works. In my summer Psychology class, I'm currently learning how wording our opinions in a certain way can effect how a person reacts to it." "So that is why you understand. That's a crucial talent needed fulfill my duty as a royal negotiator. Perhaps you could share your studies with me?" "Sure, my pleasure to help." Sam said with a smile. The wind russles the trees, and a cool breeze came by. "It is so cold here." Shada said "Is it always like this?" "No," Samantha said "Not always. Before it rains usually." A leaf fell off one of the tall trees, and brushed Sam's shoulder, making her jump. It took that leaf to remind her that it wasn't safe for Shada out here. "I-It's bound to get even cooler tonight," she said standing up "perhaps we should go inside before we catch cold?" " You would know better than I, Miss Samantha." Was Shada's reply, as he got up and fallowed her to the open window they came through before. Sam should see that Shada's ankle was still hurting, because he winced as he put his weight on it. Sam was superised he could of come up there in the first place. Over the night Shada would rest, and hopefully feel better tomorrow.

15 minutes. She had been helping them for 15 minutes. Translating books from the library, and the books she and Mahad had collected from Kattie's Library after collecting her friend's library card that morning. It had been 15 minutes of jumping from one book to the other, while Mahad wrote down what he thought was important in ancient Egyptian text. It also only took 15 minutes for Seto to get aggravated, and start up the blame game again.

"Stop Seto!" Auknadin said, hands on the young priest's shoulders. Karim was holding Mahad back too. "Will you two stop this senseless fighting?" Isis yelled. Seto was also yelling, but non-stop, so he paid no mind to anyone else but Mahad. Shada just sat on the sofa, face covered with his hand. It was out of his hands now, and he didn't want anything to do with it. Karim was yelling at Seto now, but Shada couldn't tell if it was to support Mahad, or if Karim couldn't stand Seto any longer. Shada glanced through his fingers at Ms. Samantha, completely embarrassed at how his fellow priests were acting. Her eyes were closed, with one twitching, and her fingers that were around the book's two covers were clenched like claws.

Sam couldn't tell anymore what they were yelling about, because it was just noise now. Yelling, yelling, and more yelling. Sam glanced at Shada, who caught her gaze. He was just as annoyed. The yelling grew louder; Sam has had enough.

She had a good aim. Sam chucked the book right into Seto's face, knocking him back; everyone froze. "I've had enough out of you!" her voice echoed, loud and cold in the now quiet house. "There is no way YOU are a Guardian, because you act only like a spoiled brat! I am so glad my country doesn't have someone like YOU running it, because then it would be ruins! Many people admire Egypt's history, but if this is how you truly act under pressure, then there is nothing to admire. You are disgracing your country, and the pharaoh-" Sam hoped that something like this would get through to him " – so I suggest that you stop yelling before I really lose my temper with you!"

Seto glared back. "How dare you hit m-" Another, larger book, hit his face; his nose was bleeding now. No one spoke. Sam's head was down, hair covering her eyes. The voice heard after that was Sam's: even though what she said was under her breath, everyone heard it clearly. "Atem would be so disappointed in you." She knew the Pharaoh's name! Only the royal court was to know his name, only those whom the Pharaoh trusted most. All was quiet as Samantha headed towards the front door. "I'll be back soon. And when I do come back, I expect there to be no more self-absorbed yelling Seto. Understood?" without even looking back, Sam when out, slamming the door behind her. '_How does she know the Pharaoh's name?' _They all thought. Seto sat down, covering his face with his hands; embarrassed beyond belief. His nose was really bloody now. Shada didn't say a word. Because Ms. Samantha had put a HUGE dent in Seto's ego, Shada didn't find it necessary to continue that conversation. Ms. Samantha had put into words what Shada might of ended up saying eventually, but it was best that she had than him.

Everyone sat down, Karim next to Shada. All was quiet. _Tink-tink-tink-tinktinktink-_"Hm?" Karim went over to the window, pushing away the blinds. Shada got up and followed Karim's gaze, remembering what Ms. Samantha had said just the night before: "It only gets this cold just before it rains."


	4. Chapter 4 'Wind'

Sam walked down the street in the rain. It didn't bother her, it was just a sprinkle. She pulled Kattie's library card out of her pocket. While she was out sulking, she might as well return the card. 10 minutes of walking got her there, but by then she was soaked.

"Sam! Oh my god! Hold on, let me get you a towel!" Kattie brought a pink towel over, wrapping it around her friend. Kattie was a shorthaired brunet with big blue eyes. Sam looked at her friend's hair. "Still have that clip huh?" "But of course!" Kattie said with extra drama. She never went anywhere without that bright orange hair clip. "Here." Sam said while handing Kattie the library card. "That was fast. Coffee?" Kattie offered as they walked **into** the kitchen. "Thanks." "Sorry I couldn't come over today either," Kattie said " I had to keep an eye on evil boy." Evil boy. She meant her little 12-year-old brother. He was completely cult obsessed, trying black magic stuff, the works, and even painted his walls black. A tiny little creep. "Yesterday he cut off a chunk of my hair and tried to make a freak'n VODO DOLL! I mean, what the heck! Right?" they sipped their coffee and sat down in the living room. Sam just loved the soft red sofa Kattie had. "So," Kattie began "what did you do with those cos-players? Call the loony house?" "No, they're still there." "What? 3 days? Call someone!" "Kattie… I think they're the real deal." "Did my brother get to you?" "I'm serious." Sam insisted, but Kattie wasn't buying. "Sam, this is crazy. You need to be reasonable. I know you're a huge fan, but this is over the top". Kattie was worried about her friend's sanity. _I can't exactly blame her_ Sam thought. _I'd think the same if I were in her shoes._

As the two argued, a thinner mass poked his head out from behind the sofa. Kattie argued on, and Sam payed attention, but out of the corner of her eye she saw something. Behind Kattie's head, Sam saw a thin hand pick up a lock of hair, and another hand with scissors. Sam pointed. "Hm?" Kattie turned her head just in time to see her little brother's hands shoot out of sight. "You little rat!" Kattie yelled, getting up and chasing her brother. They went around the coffee table a few times and they headed off down the hallway. "Sam! Help me catch him!" came a distant call. Sam didn't want to get involved in their sibling rivalry, but went after them anyway. At the end of the hall was Brennen's room, Kattie's brother. Sam peered in; the room was painted black, with newspapers, drawings, and symbols taped to the walls. Hanging from the ceiling was a bunch of voodoo dolls, and a Fullmetal Alchemist transmutation circle was painted on as well, around the sealing fan. _This kid is nuts._ Sam thought. Kattie was bickering with her brother in the far corner. As Sam crossed the room to break them up, her eye was drawn to the creepiest book she had ever seen, set carefully on a desk with a pillow as if it was a sacred object. _To him, it probably is. What's with this kid? He's only 12. Jeez… _Turning her attention back to the two, she found Kattie sitting on her brother's back.

"Say it!" Kattie told him, holding his arm behind his back. "Uncle Uncle!" Brennen whined, and Kattie got off of him. "Gee Sam, thanks for helping." Kattie said sarcastically. "Hey, it's not my place, and he's not MY little brother." Glancing back at the creepy book, Sam asked "What IS that?" "OH please, don't get him started!" Kattie whined, but Brennen was already up and at Sam's side. "It's an ultra rare book I found at an antique shop! It's called 'The Journal of Demons' and it's from the 1800's! Awesome, huh?" when Brennen talked about his Occult stuff was the only time Sam ever saw him smile. "It's filled with old school alchemy, stories, and witch and wicken stuff! The shop keeper could break the lock on the binding, so I got it for cheap and did it myself." The book had a rusty skull with monstrous teeth carved on the old, copper-plated cover, with frame-shaped edging. What Sam felt was the cause of the chill down her spine was that the eye holes in the skull didn't seem to have a bottom, like the shadows in them went on forever. "Here, look." Brennen opened the book and flipped through it. "There are notes and things from almost everywhere. The shop owner said it's meant to be the notes and events involving demons and the devil." Suddenly, Sam had a plan forming in her head. "Sam's not interested in your stupid book." Kattie said angrily. _I think Kattie's treatment of him plays a hand in his emo-ness. _"Actually, can I borrow it Brennen?" "WHAT?"

Wrapping the book in a few plastic bags, Sam was getting ready to go. "I can't believe you…" Kattie was very concerned now. "Don't worry will ya? I just want to try something." That was all Sam could tell her friend without making things worse. But she didn't need to. The power went out. "Just what I need." Kattie groaned. "Awesome!" said Brennen "I hope this one's a big one." As if hearing him, the power came back on. "Aww." He sighed deeply. Walking back **into** the living room, Kattie turned on the Weather Channel. None of them liked what they saw. "Holy shit." Kattie said under her breath. The Doppler radar was filled with red and orange: a huge storm was right over them, swirling in one big motion. Above it, 'TORNADO WARNING' was flashing in red letters.

The howl of the wind echoed throughout Ms. Samantha's house. The priests stayed quiet, and just looked out the windows at the gusts of wind that were blowing the trees almost leafless. "I hope Ms. Samantha returns soon." Shada said. "We know nothing of this lands weather," Mahad said "for all we know this could be the norm." "Everyone quiet!" Isis said suddenly "Listen." Isis had heard something outside. It was making the windows in the living room vibrate. _**'RRRRRRRREEEEEE-'**_ "what is it?" Seto wondered allowed "It does not sound natural." Auknadin felt uneasy "whatever it is, I do not think it's a good thing." There was silence. "Perhaps we should go find Ms. Samantha." Said Shada, not taking his eyes off of the view outside. "Don't be ridiculous Shada." Seto remarked "we would more than likely get lost ourselves. I'm sure Ms. Samantha can take care of herself."

_'**Ring-ring. Ring-ring.' **_The telephone rang, and they all jumped. Following the sound, they all huddled around the phone. "Should we answer?" whispered Shada, as if it would hear him. The phone beeped, and stopped wringing. Ms. Samantha's voice then came from the answering machine. "Hello? Can any of you hear me? Please answer!" Karim picked up the phone. "I think she pressed this button before…" he said pushing it, then holding it to his ear as he had seen Sam do. Nothing. "Oh!" came Ms. Samantha's voice "press the orange button." Karim did so. "Ms Samantha?" he asked. "Karim? Thank goodness."

The priests just watched as Karim spoke. "Ms. Samantha, where are you? And what's going on? There is this strange noise coming from outside." "Don't worry about me," Sam said "but you and the other need to get yourselves down to the basement right now. This storm is becoming a tornado!" "A what?" Karim asked. Sam thought for a moment. "A swirling wind cyclone that destroys everything in its path." "Oh no!" Karim's outburst startled the other priests, even Seto who pretended not to pay attention. "You all need to get downstairs, it's safest below ground level, and stay away from any windows and doors; a small in-closed space is best." Karim nodded to Ms. Samantha's voice. "I'm on my way back now, so I'll be there soon." "Very well" Karim said "Be careful Ms. Samantha." "I will." And with that the phone cut off, and Karim set it down. "Well?" Auknadin asked. "We all must go to the lower level; this storm is becoming a deadly cyclone." Mahad perked up. "I can put a shield around this building, but what of Ms. Samantha?" "She is on her way." "Well she better move quickly." Seto grunted stubbornly. The lights suddenly went out. "Quick!" Karim gestured to the stairs "we must hurry!"

Sam hung up the phone; the power had gone out again. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" yelled Kattie "You're not going out there! It's too windy, and we don't know when it could touch down!" Sam was already out the door, book clutched close. Again, Kattie yelled "You're crazy", but the wind ate her words.


	5. Chapter 5 'Shelter'

Branches and leaves were everywhere. Sam hadn't expected the wind to be this strong already; she had misjudged the storms strength. Her run uphill was tough, and she could barley see because the wind was moving so fast. Dodging a giant tree limb that flew at her, she was scraped by another. _Damit! _The sky was unbelievably dark, and if Sam glimpsed up, she would have been able to see the clouds swirling every which way. Sam was almost there when she had her left arm cut by an oncoming tree. It cut her from the outer top of her hand to her elbow: it stung. _Okay, this was a bad move any way you look at it… _she thought to herself. Needing to get out of the wind, Sam desperately looked around her; the retention pond was her best option. Running to the lower ground, Sam ducked into one of the large drain openings. It may have been damp, but she felt much warmer when out of the wind.

The priests were in the corner behind the basement stairs, like Ms. Samantha had requested. Seto however, remained in the stairway, looking around the corner and out the windows at the storm. "Incredible." He said, "It's so much like the sand storms we encounter back home." "Seto, I believe this storm is quite stronger. And it would be best if you joined us below." Auknadin called up to him. Seto turned his attention back to the window, and the trees outside bending almost at the base. Suddenly, a large tree branch crashed through one of the living room windows. The startled Seto retreated down the stairs to join his fellow priests. "I don't see how Ms. Samantha can travel through this horrible weather." Karim said matter-of-factly.

Sam was delaying herself. Not sure if she should make a break for home or stay sheltered in an old retention pond drain. There were a total of five different drain openings in this particular retention pond, and Sam could see other people taking shelter in them. Peering through the rain, she recognized some of the people from town, and they waved to her. As she waved back, someone else ducked into her hiding spot. "This is the strangest weather I've ever seen…" he said, trying to shake some rain off. Sam didn't look at him; she could hear him taking off a layer of his clothes to help dry off. The man made a grunt as he set himself on the hard cement ground. "This land is most… intriguing, I must say. Humph." "_This land?" " Intriguing?" he's talking like…_ As Sam turned to look, a flash of lightening lit up the tunnel. A red, damp cloak lay on the ground next to a man she had forgotten about almost completely. _It's_ _Bakura!_

"What?" Bakura said, noticing Sam's stare. "Oh! Uh, sorry… you…just seem to be dressed strangely." "I get that a lot now, apparently." He said, more to himself than to her. Sam quickly turned her stare back to the weather. _Risk staying with Bakura, or risk sprinting for home… oh crapcrapcrapcrap- _Sam leapt fro the drain and made a break for home. She desperately pulled herself out of the retention pond, and continued towards Georgia Ave. "Humph." Bakura leaned against the inside of the drain. "How foolish. Doesn't she realize how dangerous this weather is? These villagers are quite the pathetic lot." The wind howled for some time. 'She feared me.' Bakura thought. 'Could she of known who I am?' a grin crossed over his face "HmmhmmhmmHahaahahaaaha! How interesting."

Back at Ms. Samantha's house, the priests waited in the basement. The thunder and lightening had gotten stronger, and louder. It had been at least a half an hour since they last spoke with Ms. Samantha, so where was she? They all sat on the floor in the small corner of the room. Isis flinched at the large 'Boom' the thunder made, and pulled her legs tight to her at the 'Crack' of the lightening. It must of hit nearby. Mahad lightly put his hand on her shoulder. "You need not worry so much. It should all be over soon." Isis nodded weakly. "Well it wouldn't be so worrisome if Ms. Samantha had already returned. Mahad won't put up the shield until then" Seto said. Silence resumed, that is until the next big 'BOOM' came. "Hm? Did that one sound strange to you?" "It did sound different." Auknadin agreed. Seto stood up.

Sam unlocked the door, and had just barley turned the handle when a gust of wind slammed the door open. At home at last. With book in hand, Sam grabbed the door and pushed hard against the wind. She was exhausted, and didn't have a lot of energy left. _Come on…_Sam struggled to shut the door, until another pair of hand appeared. "Gugh." Seto grunted against the strain, but they both eventually got the door shut. Quickly flipping the lock, Sam let out a big sigh; even Seto was out of breath. "T…Thanks." She said "…It's about time…" was his reply. "Mahad! She's returned! Now put up that shield!" "Yes!" Mahad replied from below, as Sam followed Seto back towards the basement.

With her back against the wall, Sam slid down next to Isis and Seto followed suit. "We were beginning to worry about you." Karim said. "Sorry." Sam replied between breaths. Tilting her head back against the wall, Sam closed her eyes. "You must be exhausted." Auknadin commented, "Mahad has put up a shield, so rest a bit until you have your energy back, Ms. Samantha." Sam tried to rest, but the moment she closed her eyes, all she could see was her close encounter with Bakura. Sam felt nothing but her ongoing panic attack, and the warmth of the blood that was still trickling down her arm from the cut of the tree branch. Isis looked up and noticed the red. "Ms. Samantha! You're bleeding!" Sam didn't want to look, not while she felt the way she did. But she did anyway. Letting out a low groan, she got up, and walked over to the basement bathroom. Letting the sinks cold water flow over the cut made it sting, but at least it was being cleaned. Sam saw Isis appear in the mirror's reflection of the doorway. "Let me help you."

Sam and Isis returned to the group a few minutes later, with Sam's arm wrapped in a towel; all the bandages were on the top floor. Sitting back in their spots, Sam let out another sigh. "How's your arm?" Mahad asked. "Alright for now, at least it's stopped bleeding. Thank you Isis." "Any time, Ms. Samantha." After about ten minutes of rest, the alarm stopped, but the wind still howled. "So what is this anyway?" Seto asked, holding up the plastic bag covered book. Sam took it from him. Unwrapping it from the top down revealed the eyes of the skull first, and Sam noticed Mahad edge back slightly. "Th-that book…" he said, " Where on earth did you get such an item!" "From a friend. It's called 'The Journal of Demons'. When I saw it, I figured that if the spell you need could be anywhere, we might as well start with this." Clearly, the gruesome looking book spooked them all, for they all moved away slightly when she flipped it open. Sam flipped through the pages slowly, with only Seto daring to look over her shoulder. When she got to a page with Egyptian text, Seto spoke up. "Wait, don't turn the page… I can read that. It's most defiantly a spell." Sam tried to hand the book to Mahad, but he held his hands up to protect himself. "I will not touch such a dark spell book!" Sam rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll hold it, you copy down some notes. How's that?"

The storm was now just a light rain, but they stayed in the basement just incase. The priests watched as Mahad took notes on printer paper, while Samantha turned the pages of the book for him. _Why do I feel like I've gone full circle? Didn't I just do this?_ "Alright Ms. Samantha, I've finished this page." Sam nodded, and started through the book again until she found another page with Egyptian text. The lights came back on. _I guess it's over, if the electric company fixed the damage already…_ "I'll be back." She said, getting up and heading upstairs.

The damage wasn't as bad as it would have been if Mahad hadn't put up a barrier. Only one of the three living room windows was gone, a branch on the floor a few feet away. Sam did a quick warm-up stretch, and went to get the duct tape. Taking giant black plastic garbage bags, Sam attempted to tape them over the broken opening. While she fussed with a bag, she could hear the priests down stairs. "Could you turn the page for me Shada?" came Mahad's voice. "If you, our countries strongest spellcaster will not touch it, then I will certainly not." Was the reply he got. Sam went back downstairs, flipped a few pages, and went back upstairs. This time, Seto followed her up. As Sam held up the crinkling black bag, she heard Seto behind her, in the stairway. "Is it safe, Ms. Samantha?" "Yes." She said without turning around. Holding the bag up with one hand, she reached for the Duct tape with the other, but Seto picked it up. "You seem to need assistance." He said, handing it to her. "… Could you hold this up for me?" Sam asked. Seto walked up to the window frame, and took hold of the bag as Sam secured it, one piece of tape at a time. "I was out of hand." He said out of the blue. "What?" Sam looked at him. "I knew not to take my anxiety out on others, and should not have been so uncurtious to you. I apologize, I have never been in a situation like this." Seto said, not taking his eyes off the bag he held. Sam smiled to herself. "I haven't either."


	6. Chapter 6 'Ammit'

_What a mess._

Both the front and back yards were covered in debris. With the power back on, Sam turned from the window to the television: The Weather Channel. According to the radar, the storm was over and the town wasn't going to have rain till some time after. Seto stood next to her, amazed at the "magical box that predicted the future". _Good grief. _Sam used the remote to turn off the TV. "Perhaps Isis could tap her power into this box…" Seto thought allowed. "Trust me Seto, that won't work." Sam said as she walked into the kitchen area. Seto just stared at her with a question on his face. The other priests were now in the kitchen around the table. The 'Journal of Demons' was shut and set in the middle. Sam, followed by Seto came up to the table just n time to hear the important part of the conversation. "So in short" Mahad said "there IS a spell in this book to create a portal to another world, but-" "then the problem is solved, is it not?" Seto cut in. there was silence while Mahad glared at Seto. "Alright, we're not starting this again." Sam stated, as she moved in between them. "Please go on Mahad." Shada said, urging the conversation forward. "As I was saying," Mahad continued " It IS a spell for a transportation portal, but this particular on leads to… Ammit's sanctuary; to hell." Do to the fact that an awkward pause began to take place, Sam chimed in. " Well, um… how about redirecting it? Is that possible?" "Yes." Mahad said, but with less enthusiasm than she had thought. "There is a possibility that we can redirect the portal this spell conjures. However…" a grim look was on his face. "What? What's wrong?" she asks. "Ms. Samantha." Auknadin began. "In order to connect this world of yours to ours, we need a connector." "A connector?" "Yes. Both this world and the world we are reaching for must be striving to reach each other. One cannot build a bridge by building only on one side of the river. The construction must be from both sides, so as to meet up half way. That is how we must create this particular portal." Sam looked back t Mahad, who was holding his the side of his head in his hands, with a very tight grip. The anxiety and pressure of the situation was clearly overwhelming him. Sam sighed. "Well, it's good you know this much already, but I think you all need to take a breather, clear your heads, and worry about the rest later." _I was going o tell them about Bakura, but I don't think now is a very good time. No need to stress Mahad out more…_ Sam picked up the spell book, wrapped it back up, and returned it to her room. "Just forget all about this book for now, Mahad."

With the weather nice again, Mahad put down the shield. Deciding to leave the priests alone for a bit, Sam went outside to the tool shed. _Might as well clean up the yard so mom doesn't have a COMPLETE panic attack when she gets home. _Hauling a garbage can to the front yard, Sam put on her mom's gardening gloves on and got to work. She picked up branches and twigs and tossed each handful into the can. There was a whole lot of garbage on the lawn too, from the garbage can lying sideways in the neighbor's lawn. It was a real mess, and Sam wasn't too happy about it.

Inside, the priests were still thinking about the discovery Mahad had made, and how much trouble it would become. No one spoke to each other; they all just sat at the table, not moving. Not being one to sit still for long, Seto got up first and walked into the living room. Not particularly in a good mood, he thumbed through the bookshelf, pulling out a book about 'The Big Apple- Sights for Sore Eyes'. Sitting down with a frustrated grunt, Seto opened the book and flipped through the pages. Karim, Auknadin and Shada followed suit, leaving the kitchen and sitting down on the more comfortable sofa cushions. Back in the kitchen, Isis moved to the seat next to Mahad, and lightly put her hand on his shoulder. "This is more troublesome than I ever imagined." He said, then looking up at Isis. "I don't even know if all that we're fighting for is worth the risks involved, let alone if I have enough to pull it all off." His gaze went back to the floor. "Protecting our country and our king are worth any risk. But we are all fighting this, not just you Mahad." Isis replied. "We will fight alongside each other, all of us. This isn't your burden alone. That is why there are 6 priests, not one." Mahad managed a tired smile. "I'm grateful Isis, but in the end it is not our risk to take."

Outside, Sam had made a lot of headway. Now in the enclosed backyard, Sam was over half way done. "Whew!" she whipped the sweat from her forehead, not realizing she was leaving a mud streak in its place. _I'm fixing it up pretty good, not bad. At least I'm getting time to think, and I'm sure the priests need some time to themselves. I'm an outsider to them after all. _The sound of the screen door 'clacking' caught her attention. "Ms. Samantha," Came Karim, walking out to greet her. "Would you mind terribly if I helped you?" "N-no, not at all. Thank you Karim."

"Can you hold this here?" "Sure." Karim held a bundle of large branches in place, while Sam tied it. "All right, one more to go" she said, as Karim put it with the rest that were completed. "Other than this wood, what else must be done?" Karim asked. "Hmm, I think just re-planting some of my mom's flowers that were pulled out at the root." "Why don't you start on that, Ms. Samantha? I shall complete the last bundle." "Oh. Are you sure that's all right? I mean, you're a guardian of-" "I do not mind Ms. Samantha. Actually…" Karim began "I use to work a farm with my family when I was a child." "Really?" "Yes. I do not think of this as below me at all. It reminds me of my childhood, because I use to gather kindling for our fires." Karim looked up and found Sam looking back at him. "Oh. My apologies. I did not mean to-" "No no, it's fine." Sam replied with a smile. Karim watched as she turned and made her way to the flowerbed, and went on with his work.

The sun was setting as Sam and Karim came in. "So that strange green rope you have out there has the power to produce water?" Karim asked, as Sam grabbed a towel to clean off their shoes. "Well, sort of. That- it's called a Hose- is connected to the house, and all the water is transported here through underground pipelines." "Pipelines?" Karim said in a confused tone, while Sam handed him the towel. While they wiped themselves off, Shada popped up from around the corner. "Well," Sam continued, "it's like underground tunnels completely filled with water from a lake or river miles away." "That's extraordinary." He said, returning the towel to her. "Really? Well, I guess it is… after all there is 5000 years between our times." Sam said, still smiling. Then, the figure in the corner of her vision caught her attention. "Shada, Hi. I hope you all had a restful break." "Yes we have. Um… would it be alright if… we made a request for dinner tonight?" "Sure. I mean, there are just some Egyptian foods I still can't-" "Oh! No no." Shada said, "We just wish to try on of THIS cultures foods." "Alright, which will it be?" she asked, while Karim looked on. "I believe you call it… "Pizza"." "PIZZA? REALLY?" "What's Pizza?" Karim asked. A voice came from the other room. "It's this." Sam and Karim followed Shada with the voice to the connected living room. In there, Seto must have figured how to turn on the television, because the screen was on, and a woman was demonstrating a pizza on the Food Channel. Sam Almost burst out laughing. _Best Random moment, ever._

"Thank you!" sam called out to the pizza delivery guy as he returned to his car. Sam had to admit, she had an urge for pizza too, but never expcted this. _Oh well. _Seting the extra-large box on the kitchen table, the priests all sat down and Sam served the slices. "Thankyou." Auknadin said as she served him. "I know it was quite trivial, but is was something that interested us and take our minds off of the situation at hand." Sam just smiled. She found their sudden interest in American food adorable. "Enjoy." She saiod as she turned for the stairs. "are you not going to eat?" Mahad asked. "I'll eat some later. For now, I still need to clean up a bit." As she turned to the bathroom at the top of the stairs, sam heard Karim talk about his newly-found knowledge of a 'hose'.

Later that night, sam sat quietly in her room. She had called Kattie, and had told her that 'all was well'. Now, she was comfy on her bed; YuGiOh Millennium World Manga spread all around her and her laptop on her pillow. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she tossed her pen down. _I don't even know what I'm looking for._ First, she had be looking up all she could on Bakura, but found that she knew all there was already. She was now studying the Duelist Kingdom saga, hoping to find some sort of clue to help explain how all this happened. _I'd like to know what I could do to actually help._

Downstairs, Mahad lied awake on the sofa. 'How did this happen in the first place?' He asked himself. Mahad figured that if he could understand that, he would be able to solve his problems in no time. This wasn't the case however, so it frustrated him. Once again, Mahad racked his brain, going through all the information he had. 'In order to complete this portal, both sides need to be reaching for each other. We are reaching for our own world, but we still need someone or something to be back in our world to reach for this one… but how could we control something from our world from here?' Mahad sat up in frustration. Troubled, stressed and upset, Mahad went to the kitchen. Taking a glass from the cupboard, he filled it with the water from the fridge door, like Isis had showed him. He took a big gulp and let out a sigh. After standing in the dark for a while, Mahad decided on something: 'I need just one more look at that book.' Heading up towards Ms. Samantha's room, he saw the light coming from the other side of the door. "Ms. Samantha?"

"Hm?" Sam got up and went to the door. "Who's there?" "It is I, Mahad." _EEP! _ "One moment!" Sam said, shoving the books in the closet, and tossing the laptop under her pillow. After that quick moment, Sam opened the door. "Can I help you Mahad?" "I wish to see the Journal of Demons once more today." Sam looked at the clock. 12: 36am. "But it's so late… are you sure you're not over-working yourself?" "Please Ms. Samantha, I do not care if I must handle the book myself." That was a clear giveaway that he was indeed stressed, and VERY tired. "Mahad, would you come in for a moment?" she said, gesturing in. "… of course. I do apologize for the late hour." Sam shut the door behind him. "Please, before I give you the Journal, " she began "I need Ito fully understand the situation, and all you know about this portal. I want to be able to help better. Becides, I can tell you're tired." Both of them sat down, Sam on the edge of her bed, and Mahad on her deck chair. After a moment Mahad said "Very well. It is best that you truly know what you're getting into after all." Sam grinned. " "So, tell me… what's troubling you?

"The Connector?" "Yes. " he replied. "It is truly a factor, and I'm not so sure what to do about it. " Sam listened patently so as to hear his entire explanation. "It is a long, and troublesome procedure. Once the connector is found, it must be sent to OUR reality from here. That way there will be sections on both sides reaching for each other, making a full connection easier to gasp: like tossing a rope across the river so both ends can begin building on those ropes. Do you follow?" Sam nodded, and Mahad continued. "As for the journey between the realities… once in between worlds, there many pathways. And when in between, one error in judgment can sent the portal back on its original course; to be devoured by Ammit in Hell." "Who's Ammit?" Sam asked. "Ammit is the devourer of hearts. Once he gobbles one's heart, they cease to exist. In Egypt the heart is needed to pass through judgment into the afterlife. I understand if you cannot make sense of this, I'm sure it is quite different from your land's beliefs." "Oh, no-no…" Sam said, "I understand. I have read about Egypt a bit in history books." Sam couldn't help but glance at the Millennium Ring hanging around Mahad's neck. "The Millennium Items are so cool-I mean, fascinating. They don't exist in our world, only yours. But still, I find them the most interesting. " Mahad thought for a moment. "Ms. Samantha. If… if it comes down to sending SOMEONE through to OUR side to help build the portal… if it needs to be, will you help me? Ms. Samantha?" Mahad had been thinking about this all day, and had decided that it would have to be a person. Asking her out front now was better than trying to explain when the time came. It was indeed dangerous, but he knew of no one else.

Sam thought in silence. Mahad stood up. "I understand if you wish to think it over." As he headed for the door, Sam came up behind him. "I'll do it." He turned. " What? Are you certain?" "Yes, I'll do it, but on one condition. Teach me magic; how to defend myself against all this crazy stuff. If something goes wrong I want to be ready." "Alright, I'll agree to that." Mahad said. " If you had agreed, it was my intention to teach you anyway." A thought struck him. "I am not sure about monster summoning however, you would need stone slabs." "Heh heh." Sam grinned, "No worries, I think I've got that covered."


	7. Chapter 7 'Coffee'

Magic was tough, like trying to do algebra while in PE class. It was physically and mentally challenging; not exactly Sam's cup of tea. It was day two of her training, and Sam couldn't tell if she mad e much progress.

"Try again." Mahad said. "This time try to imagine your arm stretching out and physically grabbing it." Mahad was attempting to teach Sam how to control solid objects; by wrapping her energy around it to pick it up without actually touching it. Sam was cross-legged on the floor, and 4ft in front of her was her cell phone. Reaching her arm out straight, Sam spread out her fingers, concentrating on the phone. Slowly closing her fingers in, Sam imagined the phone in her grip. "Very good." Mahad said "now that your grip is tight on it, try to force your energy, your will into it and make it move." slowly bending her albow, sam moved her hand twards her chest, and the phone moved ever so slightly in her direction. When her hand was to her chest, the cell phone was ½ way to her. "Much better. You are really learning fast. At least, faster than most of my students." "Really?" Sam asked, "I don't feel like I've made much progress at all." "That's because we've only been doing this for two days Ms. Samantha. Do not worry, once we are finished honing your mental strength, we will be able to attempt monster summoning."

It was late, and Sam was exhausted. They finished up for the night and ate dinner.

_It's official; I'm out of money_. All Sam had left was the leftovers from the previous night. She had used up all the emergency cash. _Just Swell. And my family won't be coming home for another week and a half._ Sam sighed, and decided on washing the dishes just to do something. Isis offered to help her, but Sam declined and left them in the living room.

When Sam was done, she joined them once again in the living room. She missed watching TV, and didn't think she should see much of it, but…_I guess a little would be all right though. _Sam flipped on the news.

It was the regular stuff: the economy was down, prices were up, and IL senator "Blago" was in trouble again. People were hurt, and there were complaints about a celebrity getting to fat. _Yep, that's American media for ya. _"I find it interesting that your country keeps its people so informed, but why are they all criticizing the body of the one called 'Brittany'?" Sam suppressed a laugh. "Never mind that, just don't question it, it's pointless-" Sam stopped dead. The news had flipped to the next topic. "Oh my God." "What is it?" Mahad asked. "N-no way…" Sam pointed at the screen. The story was of a mass murder at a Starbucks in San Diego California, the killer caught on video camera. "BAKURA!" Karim gasped. They all looked. There, in the black and white camera footage, was Bakura fleeing the scene, with the scars on his face clearly visible.

All Sam could think was _Shit shit shit… The shit has hit the fan! _ Still not fully understanding the concept of television, Seto almost killed it with his monster Duos the moment he saw Bakura's face. Luckily, Sam had stopped him in time and did the best she could to make Seto and the others understand that Bakura was not "hiding inside the box".

"So this means that, at the least," Karim began "Bakura is not near the pharaoh while he is unguarded." Within about an hour of time, the priests began to understand the situation. "This also means that Bakura was effected by the same event we were. This could help lead to an answer." Akhenaden said, "Not to mention that if Bakura is here, there is a possibility that he could remain trapped here, and no longer be a threat to our king." Shada said positively. Akhenaden nodded. "Correct. We need to see tall the possibilities this situation has… perhaps coming here is in our favor after all." "I hope," Sam chimed in "that you don't intend to leave him here for MY world to deal with. I don't like this idea of you throwing your trash at us to clean up ourselves" Sam was irritated at what Akhenaden had just suggested. "Bakura just killed innocent people that shouldn't have died, and none of you are suppose to be here anyway. Besides, what chance does my world have against magic, if we don't have any ourselves?" _I don't see how they think that Bakura being here is a good thing. And the don't seem to care about those people who died! _ The news didn't cover the exact details, but due to a picture of the aftermath, it was clear the Bakura had used his Diabound. It was a gruesome sight. _All those people…_ Bakura was no longer cool in her eyes, he was a monster. _Those people didn't do anything! Why did he do it? _Sam had her face resting in her hands, trying to keep it together: she was apart of this now.

"Ms. Samantha-" Akhenaden began, but Sam stood up from her place on the couch. "Please excuse me." She said, "I need some fresh air."

"Augh!" she cried out. Once she had walked about half a block away, Sam had sat down on the curb, her head hanging low. She was so upset. Only now that Sam was alone didn't she let herself cry even a little, she had too much pride to let anyone else see her. Tears flowing down her face, Sam boiled in her own anger. She was upset that something like this had happened to her. She was upset that the priests didn't show any compassion for the victims. She was upset that Bakura had killed people he shouldn't have even gotten near. But Sam was mostly upset with herself. Why? At that point she didn't care, what mattered is that she should have done something…stopped him… and those people had died because she hadn't. But what COULD she of done? Perhaps she felt responsible because she had met Bakura in person, making her feel connected to his crimes. If she had tried to kill him the moment her turned his back to her in that drainpipe during the storm, perhaps those people would still be alive. But she hadn't, and Sam knew that she probably couldn't kill Bakura. _I should have told them about seeing Bakura before! If nothing else that is something I could have, and SHOULD have done! Why did I put it off?_ Sam sat there and wept quietly in her own frustration of the whole thing.

Hours Earlier, in San Diego California

"Where the hell am I now?" Bakura grumbled. He had snuck on to a freight train the night before and had slept there. The train had gotten too fast for him to jump off, and now that it had stopped, he hadn't the slightest clue where he was. The climate was warmer, and he could see the ocean. Walking down the street Bakura headed for the shoreline. Seeing the large mass of water made him feel less hopelessly lot that he really was. _Damn_ he thought. _ How am I going to get back to Egypt? _ Images of the pharaoh and his priests swam to the surface of his mind. Irritated, he swung at a palm tree along the street, making it shake. He had been so close! He had appeared to have retreat that night at the palace. Using Diabound as an invisible cloak, he had been able to return. Inside the palace, Bakura had quietly made he was to the guardians meeting room. He could have sworn that when he entered, that they all had been around the table, but before Bakura could launch his surprise, all had gone black.

The shoreline was quite beautiful, Bakura realized, if not fairly interesting with all its unusual ships out on the water. Bakura stood on the beach, just looking out at the bay. It was somewhat comforting to have sand beneath his feet again. Turning on his heels, he returned to the walkway, to other people. "Hey." Bakura said to one man who was jogging by. "Where am I?" the man stopped. "San Diego Bay." Was his reply in an 'it's so obvious' tone. "An where is that?" Bakura asked, not taking the mans reaction too well. The man huffed. "In San Diego. Dude, if you need directions, go to Starbucks, they've got WiFi you can use to Google It." And then the man continued on his way. _ 'Dude?' what the hell is 'WiFi'?… 'Google'? _Bakura thought, frustrated as he walked to the building the man had pointed to.

_Interesting._ He thought, looking at the sign. _ It looks somewhat like one of the monsters I saw inside one of the king's tombs._ The glowing sign looked like a stone slab to him, like it was guarding the building, and that's why it glowed. "So I have to get past that creature to get the information, eh?" Bakura said with a sneer. "I was starting to worry that I wouldn't have any fun today."

Bakura stepped inside.


	8. Chapter 8 'Money'

"What the hell?" Bakura cursed, running down the street. He was splashed in the blood that he had just spilled, and his mind was spinning. _Where am I? What was that place? Why didn't the people summon that monster? And what are those flashing lights and noises that are following me? _People did double takes, watching him run down the street. Bakura did his best to run, but those Cop cars came up in front, so he dogged down another way.

Within 5 minutes he was cornered against the water. "Teh." Bakura didn't want to bother with these people until his mind stopped spinning with questions: he was completely confused. Turning at the very edge of the walkway, he faced the cop cars. People were pointing a lot of strange contraptions at him. Putting is hands up slightly, Bakura took a step back, pushing himself **into** the water. That is where the cops lost him, for he did not come up for air.

In the present

" I do not believe I said that properly." Said Shada, now realizing that what they had said to Ms. Samantha was insensitive to her and her world. "we brought him here," said Karim "so we most certainly are not going to leave him here to reek havoc on these innocent people." "It WOULD solve our problem if we did," replied Auknadin "but I fear this **reality** has not what they need, to take down the likes of Bakura even if we did-" "thus making the destruction of this world our problem anyway." Seto finished. Isis then chimed in "Yes, well… we will be able to explain our intensions to Ms. Samantha I'm sure, but what DO we do about Bakura then?" Seto countered in an instant. "we go after him." "I agree." Said Shada. "we cannot allow him to slaughter any more of Ms. Samantha's people." "But how do we stop him, exactly?" Mahad asked. "it took the pharaohs control over the Gods just to make him retreat the first time he faced us." " I think a surprise attack would be most efficient." Said Isis "and if we knock him **into** an unconscious state, we will be able to capture him-" "until he wakes of course." Added Karim "But then what?" "I say we shove him through the portal first, " said Seto with a hint of sarcasm "just to make sure it doesn't lead to hell." Mahad rolled his eyes. " I can guarantee that it won't lead to hell Seto. With Ms. Samantha's help I will be able to connect the two realities. " "Speaking of which," continued Seto " how much longer will it take to train her?" "4, possibly 5 days… at minimum." "but we need to leave now." Argued Karim "Bakura could be getting farther and farther away by the hour. Not to mention that we don't even know where this 'San Diego' is." "I'm sure that Ms. Samantha would be able to help us with that." Isis assured him.

"I plan to." The priests looked to see Sam walking in the front door. Despite her seemingly cool composure, her eyes were slightly puffy. _She's been crying._ They thought. "sorry about that." She said "I felt a bit light headed." "it is alright." Mahad said "you are not use to the same situation's that we are, it is normal to be stressed." "…" Sam gave a weak smile. " so… I assume that you want to go to San Diego?" "Yes." Said Shada " the sooner the better." Sam sighed. "well, it would take 3-4 days to get there." "that long?" asked Seto "Then we must leave at once!" "that might not be possible Seto. I don't have enough money for the trip."

"How much would you need?" Seto asked. Sam thought about it . she couldn't take a plane, because they would need photo ID's or Passports. " we would need a car. If I rented it, it would most likely be 500-700 dollars, including gas money." "A… car?" Said Shada, unfamiliar with the term. "You know that contraption that almost hit you when I first met you? That's a car. People ride in them to g distances that take a while." Shada nodded with understanding But, Sam continued "that would be just the transportation money. We would probably need a place to stay at night, food… not to mention that we don't know how log it will take to find Bakura. It will be most likely $1,000 dollars, minimum total." "Is that a lot?" Asked Mahad. "Yep, it's a LOT of money… I don't even have $20 to my name right now." "Perhaps we could help you with work and together, make the money?" Isis said Sam shook her head. "You need a social security number to get good enough money that fast in this country." _What do I do?_ "Give me the night to think this through." "All right," Seto said. "But please let us know if we can help." Isis added as Sam headed for her room. "I will." She replied with a smile. "Good night."

San Diego, CA

"Augh!" Bakura slammed his hand against the wall, making a light 'pong noise'. "what the hell am I suppose to do?" he said to himself between clenched teeth. His mind was still spinning, but at least he had gotten away from the most recent cause of his headaches.

In San Diego Bay, lies the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that retired and became a museum to honor the Navy. Bakura had climbed up the anchor out of the water, and was now hidden away in his temporary lair aboard the massive ship.

Cold and soaked, Bakura hopped onto one of the old sailor cots. _Not exactly comfortable… _he thought. Taking off his really damp red cloak, he chucked it to the floor. The hum of the engine room was loud and came through the walls. Bakura didn't know what the noise was and didn't care, it cloaked the sound coming from his stomach. He needed to rest and that was what he was going to do. Bakura decided to let all his questions go unanswered, at least for the night. _I'm going to need to eat tomorrow…_ he thought, and then Bakura slept, hidden within the USS Midway.

Sam wished she could get to sleep, she had a killer headache. _So what the heck am I suppose to do now? How did Bakura get all the way to San Diego? That's three states away for Christ's sake._ Sam sat up on her bed. The hours that had past hadn't given her any answers. Through the darkness of her room, Sam glanced across at her deck box on her dresser. She remembered what began a few days back. Brushing off the memory, she let out a sigh and got up for the bathroom.

"Mom better not have taken the IBUPROFEN with her…" Sam grumbled, rummaging through the medicine cabinet. Successfully finding the IBUPROFEN pill bottle, Sam took one with some water. Switching off the lights to give her eyes a break, Sam breathed deeply. This was the worst headache she'd ever had, and if Sam wanted to sleep at all, it needed to go away.

Trying to relax, Sam decided to forget about that day and think about her normal life for a bit… at least what was going down before the priests showed up.

_Kattie's so unpredictable…_ Sam thought, slowly getting back **into** bed. It hadn't been the first time that Kattie changed her plans last minute. The sleepover/dueling Sam had planed didn't matter now of course, but it still irritated Sam that she hadn't been able to hang out with her. _I wonder when I'll actually duel with her again. It'll probably be a while…_ Sam thought, starting to dose off. "Heh." Sam smiled to herself. _Too bad I can't see the future like Isis… then I could plan against Kattie's randomness…_ Sam's mind trailed off, sleep felt good…

Too bad it didn't last long.

"Isis! The Millennium Necklace! That's it!" Sam sprung out of bed, and out **into** the dark hallway. Heading down the corridor, Sam knocked on the bedroom door. "Isis? Isis, it's me. Can you please open up?" a few moments later Isis opened the door. "Is something wrong, Ms. Samantha?" Isis asked. "yes…" Sam replied "I'm sorry that I had to wake you, but I figured out how we can get the money we need… but I need your help, and we don't have a lot of time." "that's fantastic Ms. Samantha." Isis said. "what is it you need me to do?" she then yawned slightly. "I need you to please get dressed and come with me." "alright, I'll only be a moment." Isis said, closing the door. Sam switched **into** a different t-shirt, staying in her PJ pants. Once again wide-awake, Sam put on her flip-flops. "where are we going?" Isis asked quietly, so as to not disturb the priests on the couch near the front door. "You'll see." Replied Sam, motioning for Isis to follow her out the door. Once out on the driveway, Sam spoke clearly again.

"We're going to play a game." "a game?" Isis asked "In the middle of the night? why?" Sam smiled to herself as they walked down the block. "because the winners are chosen tomorrow morning." "and we will win money?" Isis guessed. "Yup."

"What is this game?"

"It's called the Lottery."


	9. Chapter 9 'One for the Road'

"Alrighty, all set?"  
>"I believe so." Seto replied.<br>It had taken them a day and a half to get to this point. Thanks to Isis, Sam now had more than enough money; 10 million to be exact. Sam used the money to buy a van, the rest of the money went **into** her checking account.  
>"Let's see..." Sam said, checking things off the list.<br>"Maps, Phone charger, small cooler, water, Arizona tea..." "Ms. Samantha." called Mahad from the back end of the van. "I have taken the liberty of putting your travel bag **into** the back storage compartment." "Thank you Mahad!" she called back. Standing on the front porch with Seto, she went down the list again. "Is there anything else we need?" he asked. "Oh! I almost forgot. Could you hold this?" Sam handed him her notebook. "I'll be right back."  
>she returned with a second suitcase. "Another?" Seto asked as she exited the front door. Seto put down the notebook and took the bag from her. "Here, I'll handle it." carrying it by the handle, he and Sam went to the trunk and put it in the back of the car. "This one will be for all of you." Sam said. "But we have nothing to put in it." Seto replied. "You will. I'll explain once we leave." Karim came out with a few more water bottles. "Is that all, Ms. Samantha?" "I think so. Everyone get in, I'll go lock up."<p>

Setting herself in the drivers seat, Sam set the map atlas on the dashboard. "Okay..." she said to herself, taking a deep breath. "Everyone set back there?" in the 2 seats behind her were Karim and Seto, and Auknadin, Mahad and Isis were in the very back. Shada opened the door and got **into** the front seat. "I believe we're all set Ms. Samantha." "Alright then, buckle up." hooking herself up with the seatbelt, Shada and the others mimicked her. Starting up the car, Sam felt the others startle. "It's like... it has come to life." Mahad said, feeling the car's vibrations. Sam just smirked. Backing out of the driveway, Sam switched the car to 'Drive'. The way the moved was odd to the priests, as Sam could tell, by the fact that Shada had his hands clenched around the arm rests. But neither he nor the others complained.  
>Going down the street, Sam told them the plan. " Alright. First we will need to stop to get you all some other clothes, shoes, and some other things. The way you're dressed now will grab others attention. The last time I was in San Diego, border patrol was going down the streets daily. So it would be best if we didn't have a run in with them. Now as for the trip itself, we will be in here for a day at a time, with some small stops to rest and eat. So when we shop, we should probably buy some things so you don't get board." "I've brought the language book from your library." Mahad said. "Perhaps some paper and writing supplies, so we can plan and such?" "Okay." Sam nodded, handing the map atlas to Shada. "And you will be holding on to this for me, is that okay?" "Alright." Shada replied, already looking through it. Sam stepped on the gas, and headed towards the mall.<p>

Stepping out of the car in the parking lot, Sam said "Karim, Seto, you may want to leave your millennium items in the car, they will cause really bad attention." "..." Reluctantly they set their items inside the van and under the seats as Ms. Samantha had instructed.  
>It didn't take too long. All they really needed was one extra pair of clothes along with the paper and such. Over in the men's section of Carson's, Sam picked out some men's shirts, some genes and shorts. She had to hold the shirts up to the men to see if they would fit. Due to the fact that Karim was fairly muscular (understatement), they had trouble fitting him <strong>into<strong> some things. After that purchase, it was time for Isis's clothing. "I love this store." Sam said, leading them **into** Von Maur. "The atmosphere is so nice." "Indeed." said Auknadin "it looks quite grand." getting close to the escalators, Sam stopped. "This won't take long. So why don't you wait here?" "Alright." Shada said. Sam smiled. "Be right back, come on Isis!" Leading her by the hand, Sam led Isis over to the summer section. "She seems quite happy." Auknadin commented. Mahad was leaning on a railing. "...She's right about the atmosphere, this place is fascinating. Hey, look at this." he said pointing to the floor below. A man sat down at a Grand Piano, and began to play. "That sound, it's beautiful." Shada said. For the first time in days, the guardians felt a little peaceful, listening to the sounds of the piano.  
>Sam bought Isis a long flowing sky-blue skirt and a spaghetti-strap top. "That aught to do It." leaving the check out, they met back up with the men and continued on.<p>

"That aught to do it." Leaving the check out, they met up with the men and continued on. While shopping, Sam noticed people staying away from Auknadin because of his eye. So Sam stopped at Spencer's gifts for an eye patch and they were on their way. "Sorry Auknadin, but I think it is best if you wear it while we are out in public." "I don't disagree." He replied, putting it on. Sam stopped and looked down the hall a bit towards some other shops. "Something wrong, Ms. Samantha?" Isis asked. "…Oh, no. I just thought I saw some people I knew. Come on. Lets go." After putting their new clothes in the empty suitcase, and headed back on the road.

After a few hours, the guardians were used to the car. Sam was on the highway, so it would be smooth sailing for a while. They all kept busy. Mahad worked on learning the English writing and practiced with the notebook Sam had gotten him while Isis watched, interested as well. Auknadin talked with Seto about old battles and strategies, writing down notes and ideas that come to mind. Occasionally the others joined in, but would all go back to their own thing. Karim listened to Seto and Auknadin, but mostly kept to a pencil and paper. Shada was silent in the front seat, just watching the scenery go past. Sam and Shada felt left out of the rest, but there wasn't much to talk about. "… I never did lend you my Psychology notes." Shada looked over at her. "Oh, that's alright Ms. Samantha. Besides, We now have bigger things to worry about." "I guess you're right." Sam said. Silenced returned to the front seats. The car ahead of them was moving slowly, so Sam maneuvered around, signaling to the other car. "Your land continues to amaze me." Shada finally spoke "you have so many amazing things, and there is so much that I would like to know." _It depends on what it is_, Sam thought. "…Like what?" "I want to know more about this land you live on. How does it work?" "… "How does it work"? I'm not sure what you mean." "What I mean is, could you tell me a bit about it? History or traditions perhaps?"

Sam began to tell Shada about America. How it wasn't all that old, and how large it was. Shada listened intently, and Sam went on to talk about the different weather, monuments, and former Presidents. Sam couldn't help but notice that all was quiet behind them when she began to talk about America's past leaders.

After a while, they stopped at a rest station to stretch. "Your government here is nothing like ours." Shada said, stepping out. "Yes well…" Said Seto; closing the car door "I think it would have been easier to run if you had a king." _I guess the idea of not having a king is a bit too different for them. _

After they stopped to rest, the sun started to get low in the sky. "Alright, time to move on." Sam said, ushering them all back to the car. "The sun has begun to set, Ms. Samantha," Mahad said, getting in "Perhaps we should find a place to stay for the night." _Hmmm, I think I can squeeze another 100 miles in tonight. _"I'll drive for another 2-3 hours, but after that I'll stop so we can get a good sleep."

As Sam had expected, most of the guardians had fallen asleep after about 2 hours **into** the drive from the rest stop. The only one who wasn't asleep was Seto, who remained silent looking out at the sky through the window. Occasionally, Sam would glance back at them all through the rear view mirror. Sam thought it was cute. Isis and Mahad had ended up resting their heads against each other. Glancing next to her, Sam found Shada's head tipped slightly towards the window, fast asleep. She suppressed a giggle. From the seat behind, Seto saw Sam smiling at Shada. With a bit of an impatient sigh, he returned to looking out the window. Quietly, he said, " You should rest as well." "I will." She said quietly in reply. "I'll stop in about as hour or so… not too much longer."

It ended up being more than that. The clock said 1am when Sam glanced back to see Seto asleep as well. With the map on her lap, Sam checked the distance to the next exit. _Gugh, another ½ hour to the next hotel…_ the road was empty except for one or two cars, so Sam decided to pull off on to the shoulder. _No way I'll be able to stay awake to get to a hotel._ Sam turned off the car and removed the keys. With one last glance back at the guardians, Sam turned off the overhead light.


	10. Chapter 10 'Arrival'

Back in San Diego California

The massive ship was dark at night. Bakura did not know which way to go, after all what did he know of the innards of a giant Navy ship? Still, with the grumbling of his stomach echoing down the metal hall, he took the risk of getting lost.

"Where the hell is the dam and food locker?" Bakura grumbled to himself. After two hours of searching for food, Bakura was unbelievably frustrated. _I don't find food in this place soon, I'm just going to have to tear it apart using my Diabound until I find it!_ Bakura thought to himself. Then, as if the ship had heard him, Bakura stepped **into** a large open area inside the heart of the ship. On the far left side of the open room, was the ship's gift shop. "Huh," said Bakura to himself. "I guess I'm getting closer at least." Looking through the abandoned gift shop area, Bakura sauce and interesting things: naturally he stuffed some of the small ones **into** his pockets, he was a King of thieves after all. Still wandering around, ignore went to the far back of the store area. Rounding the corner, Bakura found himself with much delight. There in front of him, was a bar table with a picture of a chicken on top of it with the words café next to it. Bakura couldn't read the words, but he didn't care because the moment he saw the picture of the chicken he knew there was food. Bakura then began to happily feast, still worrying about how he would get back to his hiding place. _I'll figure it out. But perhaps I should figure out how to get out of this place first._

The only sound Sam heard was the soft zooming of cars passing them by. She felt warm, sitting in her soft chair. Then, as time went by, she began to hear voices softly from behind her.

"Perhaps we should wake her?" Sam heard a female voice say.

"She must have been awake far longer than we," said a young man. "Perhaps we should just let her be for a little while longer." "However, we should continue our travels immediately." Said the deeper, yet just as young voice. Sam began to recognize that the warmth she felt was the heat of the sun on her cheek. The sun must be up, she thought, still in a deep sleep. Then, came a deep voice from next to her. "Ms. Samantha is trying her hardest to help us Seto, giving her a bit more time to rest would probably be best. Besides, I'm sure that it won't make much difference when it comes to when we will get to our destination." Sam tried to remember who it was. _Shada_.

With a light moan, Sam opened her eyes **into** the bright sunlight, now remembering where she was and whom she was with. "Good… good morning." She said softly moving some hair out of her face. "Good morning," Shada replied, "I hope you slept well, Ms. Samantha." "Yes I did, thank you." Looking at the clock, she found it to be 8:30 AM. "Have you all been up long?" She asked. "Not very," Karim replied his eyes still looking very tired. "Well..." Sam turned back to the steering wheel, while rubbing her eyes. "I guess we should start moving again. But I think we should stop at the next exit to get some food though." Turning the key in the ignition, Sam pulled back onto the highway. "But please, let us not stop for too long Ms. Samantha." Seto said. "That's fine, I understand. I was planning on using a McDonald's drive through anyway." "A what?" Shada asked.

"Okay so what do you want?" Sam asked as she drove up to the menu sign. "Well..." Mahad spoke up cautiously, "what is it that they can cook for us?" "Well, do you want something with meat, chicken or a salad? As for a drink, there is water, milk, juice, and soda. Although, I do not think it best that you try soda. There are a lot of different types and you may not like the texture." "We'll take your word for it." Seto said bluntly. "I would prefer something with meat, and water is fine."

"A salad sounds nice." Isis said.

When about to get back on the road, Sam noticed that tank of the car was almost empty.

"I'll have to stop to get fuel but it will only take a few minutes okay?" She said

"That's fine," Mahad said, "I honestly don't like the feeling of eating while moving it does not settle well in my stomach."

When Sam got back **into** the van, she found that the guardians were almost done eating. "How is it?" She asked. "It is different" Auknadin commented, "but it tastes all right. Although," he said taking a glance at her "I must ask what sort of drink that is that you have Ms. Samantha." "It's café mocha. It's coffee... Err, it is a drink that's used to wake someone up and give them energy. I do not think you would like the taste though. It is definitely something that might taste bitter to you." "If you don't mind," Isis asked, "Might I try some of yours?" _Why not._ "Here." Sam passed the cup back to her. After taking a sip and swallowing a cringe appeared on Isis's face. "I can taste some sugar in it," she said "but it tastes so horrible anyway. How can you drink such a thing?" "I guess I'm just used to that sort of thing." Back in the car they were on the road again. "We won't stop again for another few hours," Sam said "do you need anything?" _Like a bathroom break... "_Let's just go." Seto said. Sam sighed.

At the next rest stop that day, Sam just leaned against the van waiting for them to return from the bathrooms. Deciding to get some snacks from the vending machines, Sam grabbed some change from the front seat and went inside the rest stop. Grabbing herself a Coke and some Cheez-it's, she went back out to a picnic table, and enjoyed the nice warm weather. _This is so boring._ She thought. _The driving takes forever..._ While Sam was frustratingly crunching away at her cheese snacks, Karim stepped outside and headed for the Van. Taking a deep breath, he sucked in some air. "It is a nice day." He said to himself. While waiting for the others, Karim opened the door and took out his notebook and pencil that Sam had given him. While leaning against the van, he began to sketch the trees and the buildings around him. Spotting Ms. Samantha, he decided to draw her at the table. _The special artist supplies that Ms. Samantha has sure are useful, in comparison to what we use._ Karim specifically liked how he could erase a mistake he made with the back of the pencil. _I hope to bring one of these back with me_. Looking up from his paper again, Karim found Sam laying her head on the table, using her arms as head rests. She was asleep again.

"Ms. Samantha? Are you all right?" Sam opened one eye to find Karim staring down at her worried. "Oh, I'm fine. I guess I'm still a bit tired." "Perhaps you would like to rest, teach one of us to control that contraption? (The Van)""Ha ha, no. No offense Karim, but that is not a good idea. I'll be just fine, don't you worry." Sam noticed his sketchbook. "Are you drawing Karim?" "Yes. I am attempting the style your world uses. It is fairly difficult, but I believe I am **beginning** to get the hang of it." Flipping to his sketch of the tree, he showed it to her. "How is this?" He asked. "Wow Karim, that's pretty darn good. Not bad for your first time trying three-dimensional drawing." "Is that what it's called?"

"... So basically the art style back in your time was inspiration that led to the amazing styles and sculptures of the cities of Greece and Rome." "Really? That's really quite fascinating." Sam and Karim **into** deep conversation about art styles, and Sam explained how the original art styles of ancient Egypt brought about the famous styles of today. "If you don't mind me asking Karim, why is it that in the old paintings from Egypt, the people stand with their left foot forward? That was a key characteristic that was passed down to the next generations: sculptors of the Rome and so on." "It is an old tradition. The human heart is on the left side of the body, therefore stepping forward with the left foot only symbolizes pointing your heart towards what you respect. Such as if the person was standing in the manner while facing the Pharaoh." "I see... I've always wanted to know why. That's pretty interesting."

"Are we just about ready to go Ms. Samantha?" Came Seto's voice as he, Auknadin and Mahad walked up to the Van. "It sure took you a long while." Sam commented. "We did not expect to find a line." Mahad said. _Heh._ "Where's Shada?" "He stopped at the strange box inside the building that contained many different eatable items."

Back at the vending machines, Shada had his eye on some M&M's inside the box. "Well, those seem to look most interesting." He said aloud. "Perhaps I can try them." "Which one would you like?" Sam said as she appeared next to him. "Oh, I do not want to impose-" "Don't worry about it Shada." Well, I would like to try that small bag of circular shaped sweets there." He said, pointing to it. Sam put the coins **into** the vending machine. Shada watched with interest as the machine dropped the item to the bottom and Sam reached her hand inside and retrieved the M&M's. When they walked back to the group at the Van, the others became interested. "What are those?" Asked Mahad.

About five minutes and a couple of bags of M&Ms later, they were back on the road. "These have a very pleasant taste." Karim said, as their van and down the road. "What is it you have drawn Karim?" Auknadin asked glancing over Karim's shoulder. Karim began to explain to them to drawing technique he was attempting. Sam glanced back over her shoulder towards the men. While the others were listening to his explanation, Seto was organizing his M&Ms by color with an amused look on his face, completely ignoring the others. Sam just turned back to the road smiling to herself. _I hope I don't Americanize them too much before I send them back._

At about eight o'clock at night the next day, they arrived in San Diego. "I feel so tired..." Sam said to herself. "But at least we here." "What tall buildings..." Seto commented, looking out the window. "And they're all glowing so beautifully!" Isis added. While the guardians were intrigued with the new surroundings they found themselves in, Sam searched for a place to stay. _I am __not__ sleeping in the car again._ Driving along the shoreline, Sam searched for hotels. At the same time, she could not help but look at what was around her too. The water looked beautiful, with all of the small boats drifting with their lights. A couple of Navy ships were docked there at the time and lit up as well. Alongside the cars on the street, were little bicycle taxis: seats with wheels that were pulled along by a man on a bicycle. The atmosphere was nice, and Sam couldn't help but feel relaxed after the long drive to finally be there. Spotting the Hyatt, Sam pulled in. "Stay here," she told them "I'm going to go inside and see if they have a room for us to stay."

"Hello, may I help you?" Said the man at front desk. "Yes, I need a few rooms for the night." "How many?" He asked. Sam thought. "Well," she said, "there are a total of seven of us. Two women, and five guys." "Wow, that's a lot." The man said, while typing on his computer. "We have three rooms you could use then. How's that?" "That sounds great, I'll take them". Sam handed the man her debit card. "How long will we be able to stay in those rooms? We don't know how long were going to be in town for." "Those rooms aren't reserved ma'am, so it won't be a problem." "That's great!" Sam felt relieved that something was going smoothly. "Would we be able to check in now?" "Yes ma'am." "Okay, now I have a van with me, is there a place I could park it?" "Parking is about $100 a night ma'am." _Wow, that's a bit much. But at least I have the money for it_. "That will work fine." She said. "All right then." the man said just finishing what he was typing. Taking out three room keys he handed them to her. "Your rooms are room 913, 916 and 917. Rooms 916 and 917 are joined by a door, will that be fine?" "Yeah, that works." "I'll send a bellhop out your part to help get your things."

Sam went out back to the Van, with the bellman right behind her. Opening Shada's door, she told them "okay, we're staying here for the night. Come on." As they all got out they watched as the bellman took the bags from the trunk and set them on the cart, and Sam handed another man the car keys. After the car was emptied and driven off to the parking garage, they all followed the bellhop inside and to the elevator. "Splendid." Shada said to himself, as they all looked around the big and beautiful hotel. While in the elevator, the guardians startled as it began to move up. When they were at their floor, the bellhop stopped at room 913 first. "All right Isis." Sam said, "This will be our room." Sam took her bag and put it inside. She then went with the others to their rooms. The bellhop took their suitcase and set it on the table inside. "Thank you." Sam said, giving him two $20's. With a smile the man took the card back down to the Main Hall. "Let's get you boys settled in." In each room, there were two beds and a sofa. Sam explained the shower and the room keys. "I will go downstairs and get spare keys so that you all have one, just make sure you don't lose them." "All right." They all agreed. Once Isis had gotten her things from the suitcase, she and Sam went back to their room and got settled in too.

"This bed is so soft!" Isis said lying down. Sam smiled as she put her stuff on the bed. "After I get the extra keys and order us all some food, I'm going to go for a swim in the pool. Would you like to join me?" "That would be wonderful, thank you".

Later, while lounging in a hot tub, Sam and Isis both breathe a sigh of relief. "This is most relaxing." Isis said "it feels wonderful after all that has happened." "Yeah." Sam agreed. Fully fed, relaxed and rested, tomorrow Sam, Isis and the rest of the guardians would begin their search. But search for Bakura? _Would finding Bakura now be the best thing? We wouldn't know what to do with him, so I guess tomorrow we will look for clues to where he is, and figure it out after that._

Unknown to Sam and the guardians, only two blocks away on the ship Midway, Bakura slept well, and would create a plan of his own.


	11. Chapter 11 'Progress'

**Ring ring! Ring ring!** The sound stirred Sam from her deep sleep. Without opening her eyes, she reached her hand out blindly for the telephone. Groggily, she answered "h-hello?" "Good morning ma'am." Said the man on the other line. "This is your eight o'clock wake-up call." "Oh," Sam said, as her memory returned as to where she was. "Thank you sir." "You're welcome." He replied. "And I also remind you that we have a complimentary breakfast this morning until 11 o'clock." At the mention of food Sam's stomach growled. "Thank you sir." "You're welcome and have a nice day." The phone cut off. "What was that noise?" Isis asked sitting up from her bed. "That was just to wake us up so we wouldn't oversleep." Sam said, getting out of bed. With her eyes only half open, she strode up to the suitcases open in the corner. "Come on Isis," she said "we need to get ready so we can meet the others for breakfast and figure out what we will do today."

Opening their hotel room door, Sam looked down at what had made a crunching noise under her foot. It was the daily newspaper. Picking it up, Sam tossed it back into the room as they shut the door behind them. Sam wore a pair of tight dark jeans, and a slightly loose blue T-shirt. Sam had convinced Isis to wear the clothes they had bought at the mall, so as to fit in with everything right away. As they walked down the hall to the men's rooms, Isis looked over the railing to the floors below. "This place is so large for being merely a hotel." She commented quietly. As they approached the two rooms, Sam picked up the newspaper outside of their doors while Isis knocked. "Who is there?" Came Auknadin's voice from the other side. "It is us." Replied Isis. Auknadin opens the door and allowed the women to enter. "We had a strange happening this morning." He said. "Oh?" Isis looked at him. "The communication device on the table began to make sounds and refused to stop until Seto knocked it over." Sam couldn't help but laugh. "I had asked the front desk to call our rooms to make sure we woke up on time." She said, trying to choke back laughter as she looked at the annoyed Seto, who sat in a chair looking out the window. All the guardians had gathered into one room with the connecting door to the second room being open. As Isis explained the wake-up call for them, Sam reconnected the phone to the wall. Mahad, who was leaning against the wall by the connecting door, spoke up. "Judging by the fact that Isis is wearing your worlds clothes, should we do the same?" "Yes," Sam said, "that would be best. When you are finished changing, we will all go downstairs for breakfast." Then she and Isis went into the other room, to give the men their privacy.

"This is delicious!" exclaimed Auknadin, tasting a bit of his omelet that the chefs had freshly made. All was quiet at first as everyone enjoyed their hot breakfast. Putting down her fork, Sam took a sip of her coffee and unfolded a newspaper that she had brought down with them. On the second page in, was the story about Bakura and his attack at a Starbucks. There wasn't much of the story in the newspaper. Bakura had remained unidentified despite the fact he had been caught on camera, and they obviously did not have any record of his fingerprints either. "What's that?" Seto said looking up from his food. "Newspaper." Sam said not looking up from the picture on the page. "It gives the news of what has happened currently in this town, including the part about Bakura and his attack a few days ago." "Really?" Mahad said, "May I see it?" Sam sighed. "There's not much information here that we can use, if any." She handed it to him. Shada looked over Mahad's shoulder at the picture as they all continue to eat. After a bit of silence, Isis asked, "How many people ended up dead?" Sam could tell she felt sorry about having to ask. As Sam was about to answer, Mahad replied "eight people" With a look of disgust on his face. "You can read it now?" Sam looked up, surprised. "Only a little bit." He said, "but enough to get the general idea of what it is saying." He gestured to the words on the page with his hand. After a few seconds of silence, Mahad changed the subject. "I think it's time we started up your training again Ms. Samantha." "All right," she said. "When? We came here for clues about where Bakura may have gone, so shouldn't we start on that first?" They all thought in silence. "I believe the first problem we should address should be to finalize our plan." Auknadin said matter-of-factly. "Training you in the ways of magic, or finding Bakura... Neither do us any good if we don't know what to do with what we receive from our work." "I agree." said Shada. "Then I guess the best thing to do is to split up the work." Sam said. "After all, I can't take all of you with me at once to look around the city, that would be far too suspicious looking." And Sam was right. After all, they were obviously an odd sight just sitting there at the hotel lounge: six Egyptians and one teenage redheaded American girl was not a common sight in California. "Besides," she continued, "a large group such as ours would be easy for Bakura to spot, and what would we do then if he found us first?"

So it was decided. Sam would take Seto and Shada and search a bit of the city, while the rest of them would finalize the plan, with Mahad working on mastering the spell.

"Remember," Mahad said as Sam was about to lead Seto and Shada out through the lobby. "When you return you will have to finish your practice of object control before we can begin on anything close to Ka summoning, so be ready for some tough work tonight." "Okay," Sam replied leading the two men away "we will be back in a few hours."

It was fun to watch Seto and Shada marvel at the tall buildings. Unfortunately they saw her watching their expressions and started to pretend not to care out of embarrassment. Sam just smiled to herself and continued to lead the men down the street. They pass a couple of shops and had stopped to just look in a few of them. Sam had struck up a conversation with the cashier at one of them, and asked her if she knew anything about the Starbucks massacre, as it was called. The girl didn't know much except for what had been shown on television, and so they moved on._ We can't make it too obvious that we're investigating about it; otherwise people start to wonder if we're involved. _As they approached the Starbucks, Sam said, "Just so you know, they may not let us go in. It's a crime scene after all."

As they approached the door to the Starbucks, Sam noticed a man with a badge coming out and locking the door behind him. "Um, excuse me sir!" Sam said hurriedly as she went up to him. "Yes?" The man looked up, raising an eyebrow._ Just great._ Thought Sam,_ I'm not good with cops. _"Um... Is this really the Starbucks where that man killed some people a few days ago?" "Yes." The cop said, slightly annoyed. "Oh, uh… when will it open again?" "In a few weeks." he replied. "Oh. That long?" The policeman let out a sigh. "You teens and your coffee... We just started cleaning up, so yes it will take that long. Unless you don't mind having your coffee in a blood splattered room." It was then that the man noticed Seto and Shada behind her. "Look, if you're with some team newsmagazine, get your information from someone else. I'm not allowed to talk to you about it." The cop turned and headed back towards his car. "Just great," Sam turned to the other two "looks like we can get in there for a while." "What?" Said Shada, "but this is our only lead. We cannot afford to lose it." "Well," Sam said with a frown, "he's not going to let us in just because we want to. And it's not likely that he will change his mind if you tell him about your high status either." "I will take care of this." Seto said. "What do you mean?" Sam asked, A little worried. Seto, who had been wearing a small pack on his back that Sam had bought for him, removed his millennium Rod From it. He went up to the policeman quietly, who had just opened his car door.

Entering the torn up Starbucks, Sam looked out back at the policeman standing guard outside the door. "Are you sure it's okay?" "Yes." Replied Seto "and he will not remember anything when we are finished." The policeman standing guard outside the door was now under the control of Seto's millennium Rod. Looking around the scene, Sam felt dumbstruck. All the furniture had been moved except for the main counter, so it just looked like a large empty room with dried blood splatters and cut wall panels. "He really did a number on this place." Seto grumbled disapprovingly. Shada knelt next to a blood splatter near the counter. With a hand lying on top of the millennium Key around his neck, Shada closed his eyes and concentrated. "…There are traces of Bakura's Diabound left in this room." He said. "The person that had stood here... A great deal of them came **into** contact with the creature." There was quiet as the other two looked on. "Ah, this one was sliced in two." Shada opened his eyes, and said a quiet chant for the deceased. Seto eyed the walls. "I'm surprised this room is still in one piece." He said. Seto ran his hand across a giant scrape on the wall. Sam took out her cell phone and began taking pictures with it.

"Can you follow it?" Seto asked Shada as they exited about 20 minutes later. "I will do my best to keep track of it, although it is very faint." They were referring to the magical trace that Bakura's Diabound had left behind. As the three of them continued on, Sam looked back to see the policeman regain consciousness, with a slightly confused look on his face._ Well that was handy. Wish I could do that; I'd use it almost every day._ Turning her attention back to the two men, Sam let Shada lead the way.

A few blocks down, Shada looked down over the edge of the walkway that had led them there. "This is as far as I can track it." he said. The three of them looked over the water in silence, thinking. Sam's eyes followed the edge of the San Diego Bay down and around the other side. Quite a ways down was an aircraft carrier at the dock, and a few blocks past that was where their hotel was. In the other direction were some small shops along the shore and a few tiny boats on the water._ Guess all we can do now is just ask the people around here._ Sam thought to herself. "Come on." She said to the two men "maybe someone around here saw something."

Anyone that Sam, Seto or Shada asked knew nothing of importance. They were making almost no progress at all. The only other information they were able to get was descriptions people made of Bakura that had seen him at the dock that day. Resting for lunch, Sam treated Seto and Shada to lunch at an outdoor café. Frustratingly scarfing down a sandwich, Seto kept grumbling his annoyance at their current predicament. Shada and Sam didn't even bother to try to stop him this time, because they shared the same feeling. "So now what?" Shada asked out loud. Sam sighed, setting down her Pepsi. "I haven't the slightest idea." Shada just looked at Sam. Ms. Samantha, "is there anywhere around here that would be a possible place for Bakura to hide?" Sam had to really think about that one._ We are could he hide? If now all of the police officers and detectives in the state, and possibly the country were looking for him, we are could he possibly hide from all those eyes._ Sam just sat there in silence looking at her sandwich for a while, with the others waiting for a reply. Frustrated, she said, "I just don't know. I'm honestly surprised that no one has already found him. Despite the fact he's supposed to be the King of thieves, our country has just about eyes everywhere for security reasons so you'd think he would've been spotted by now. I can't think of a place where he could hide from all that for this long." Noting that they weren't going to make any progress like this, Shada decided it was time to change the subject. "I propose that we take a rest from our search and just get a feel for the area. Perhaps that will give us more insight into the matter." Seto silently agreed, and after paying, they decided to go back and look at some of the shops in the downtown area of San Diego.

For the next hour or so, Sam, Seto and Shada were more like tourists. The break were taking was very much needed, and seemed to really raise their spirits again. In one store, Sam had left them alone for a while to check on some sales elsewhere in the store. When she came back, she found Seto and Shada trying on very dramatic looking sunglasses. Taking out her phone, she snapped a few pictures of them without them noticing. She just couldn't help it. It was so funny! When the two saw her, they embarrassingly returned the sunglasses to the stand and pretended to be interested elsewhere in the stores. Later on, when passing a convenience store Sam had an idea. "I think I should get you all a cell phone, just to make sure I can keep contact with you at all times." "That would be very convenient." Shada commented. And so, Sam bought a pay-as-you-go phone and added a couple of minutes to its. Seto presumably didn't care, so as Sam reviewed to Shada how to work the phone. Walking down the street, she explained it. "All right, I've already said in the number that that calls me in the phone so you go here..." She went through the steps of the button pressing to find the phone book "you select to it and then you press the green button and it should call me." They practiced calling each other until Shada headed down to a T.

They began their search for clues once again, but kept finding that they had nothing to go off of. As the clock struck five o'clock, Sam looked at her watch. "I guess there's nothing else we can do, let's go back to the hotel. Hopefully everyone else's had better luck than we had."

"The plan is this." Karim began, all eight of them sitting together in the hotel room. "We need to stop Bakura's rampaged as soon as possible, and prevent him from killing anyone else. If we can immobilize him for just enough time, should be able to finalize the portal that Mahad will create, and go through it together taking Bakura with us in one trip." "The problem lies however, in the timing." Auknadin explained. "Mahad still needs to connect the portal to our side before it can be fit to have us all go through it together. Keeping this unknown factor in mind, we also need to make sure that we keep Bakura unconscious long enough to get this done. That alone is trouble in itself." "We will have to catch him off guard completely somehow," said Isis "however, if he senses our presence before we can do anything then I don't want to think about the consequences of what will happen." Seto scoffed at this. "Not facing your enemy head-on is cowardly." "Yes, well we don't have much of a chance otherwise do we?" Auknadin said with a sigh.

"So what should I do for all of this?" asked Sam. "We need you, Ms. Samantha to help us search for Bakura, but we also need you to help Mahad connect the portal." Sam sat back in her chair. "Well, I can't be in two places at once." "Seeing as our efforts came up fruitless today," Seto commented, "we might as well focus mostly on our return through the portal." "You did not make any progress?" Mahad asked. "I was able to sense a trace of Bakura's Diabound left behind, but we were unable to follow it to his current location: it broke off at the waterfront." Shada said, trying to convince himself more than the others that their efforts were not a total loss. "The only thing we can do now," commented Karim "is work hard on returning home. We will have to save the search for Bakura until tomorrow." "Right." Mahad said, standing up. "It is time to continue your training Ms. Samantha."

"You have quite a knack for object control, Ms. Samantha." Mahad said. It was about eight o'clock, and Mahad had been pushing her into controlling large objects, like chairs and even lifting one with someone sitting in it still. "Most magicians in our country are unable to perform this element of magic." It is a rare find and I'm sure you will find it handy. He gave her a pat on the shoulder. Sam was exhausted. She never knew her brain could feel so tired, and the same could be said for her eyes._ I need a nap._ She thought, grumpily. Sam did not realize that she was falling forward from exhaustion. Mahad caught her. "It seems this has been quite a lot for you." He said "tomorrow I believe we can begin to practice other things, now that you have more than mastered this. Shada."" Mahad called him over. "Could you look into Ms. Samantha's heart, and tell me if you see a Ka forming yet?" "Don't I get a say in that?" Sam said, with her eyes drooping. "May I?" Asked Shada. Sam looked at him. He looked slightly worried about how tired she was. "Sorry," Sam shook her head "I'm too tired to think straight. Go ahead." she gestured to him with a limp hand. Mahad helped her sit down in a chair, and Shada came up to stand just above her. Holding his key outward, he searched the inside of her heart.

"I see… a form, but it has not become a Ka as of yet… It is still growing." Shada lowered his key and opened his eyes. "We are close, and that is good enough for today." Mahad said. "I think it is time for you to rest, Ms. Samantha." "All right." Sam said without complaint. She stood up, only to get dizzy and fall back into the chair. "It appears that technique takes quite a bit from you," Mahad said with a sympathetic look. "But don't worry, you'll get used to it and it will no longer drain you in this way. Come, we will take you to your room." Isis opened the door with her key, while Mahad and Shada escorted Sam inside. "Thanks." She said, as they sat her on the corner of her bed. "Get some rest." Mahad told her again. With a smirk, Sam nodded. "Goodnight, Ms. Samantha." Said Shada, and with that they left, leaving the two women to the privacy of their room.

Sam woke two hours later, laying atop of her bed. Apparently, she had just fell backward on the bed and fell asleep immediately. It was dark in the room, and Isis was already asleep in the other bed across the room. Sam turned on her bedside lamp, because now she was unfortunately awake. The clock showed 10:15pm. It really wasn't that late to her, she had stayed up later than this before. With nothing else to keep her occupied, Sam grabbed the newspaper she had tossed **into** the room earlier that day.

She hadn't really looked at any of the news other than what spoke about Bakura. Skipping over all the political stuff, Sam found an article a few pages back that seemed interesting. Apparently, the old ship down by the dock was an aircraft carrier called the Midway, and it was celebrating the anniversary of its transformation into a museum. The article was advertising tickets and the like. Sam could actually see the Midway from her hotel room window: It was covered with lights._ Would have been nice to go to that, too bad this isn't a pleasure trip._ About to turn the page, Sam noticed another article about the Midway. It was very small, which was why she almost missed it. It was about food theft from the Midway's kitchen. Apparently, it had been broken into more than once, and the security we're going to start putting in surveillance cameras in the kitchen to see if they could catch the thief._ Why would anyone steal food off of the Midway? It's not like a homeless person could sneak aboard to get the food when the museum is closed. They have to be staying on the ship._ Sam's thoughts went on for a bit. She noticed earlier that the ship was fairly close to her hotel. She had noticed this for a second time, when she had been out with Seto and Shada at the Bay where they lost Bakura's trace._ He had jumped __into__ the water... So if he had to swim then perhaps..._ Sam looked at the article again. Apparently, the thief had neglected the cash register outside the kitchen door by the seating area. That seemed odd to her._ If I were homeless and hungry, I'd take the money too. So unless it was a very stupid hobo..._ Sam got off her bed. Noting that the anniversary party at the Midway didn't end until 11:30, she still had a bit of time. It wasn't much, but she fell that she would regret not looking into it while she could. Sam put on some fairly nice clothing out her suitcase, grabbed her cell phone, wallet and key. Without waking Isis, Sam slipped out the door to quickly check on her hunch.

Just outside the hotel doors, Sam quickened her pace towards the USS Midway. They had made almost no progress in finding Bakura that day, and all of their leads had gone cold. "I'll just check it out quickly, and go right back." She said to herself. "It's probably nothing."


	12. Chapter 12 'Chances and Betrayal'

In order to look nice for this event, Sam had borrowed the skirt she had bought for Isis, and wore a nice white blouse. Stepping up to the ticket counter on the dock, the man behind the desk gave her a flyer for the event along with a map of the ship, and a list of activities. _I know it's a bit late, but why not?_ Sam thought _even if my lead ends up to be a dud, the ship is beautiful and I was interested in coming here anyway._ Stepping onto the massive Navy ship, Sam glanced down at her map. _Now, where shall I start?_

Bakura looked out at the water's edge through the porthole of the ship. Beautiful lights were reflecting off the water from the party above on the flight deck. "It's been difficult to remain unseen on this blasted thing," bakura said aloud "now what?"Bakura had to dodge people a lot that night. There seemed to be more people going his way unusual. Dodging out of sight of couple walking down the corridor, bakura noticed that they dropped a piece of paper. When they were gone, bakura went and picked it up: it was a map of the ship and its festivities. _Huh,_ bakura thought _I could've used this a while ago._ Looking at the paper in his hand and listening to the chatter echoing halls from above, bakura became curious. _I really don't understand this place,_ bakura thought _perhaps I should see what all the fuss is about._ A sneer spread across his face. Perhaps he could have a little fun.

Some sections of the ship was still open to the guests, but the flight deck hosted most of the party. The airplanes and helicopters covered the edges of the deck. The open area in the middle however, was filled with large round tables with chairs, with a small buffet of food. There was a small stage put aside with the microphone, which Sam guessed was for speeches about the ship. This was after all, an anniversary party. Seeing that she had already paid for it, Sam decided that despite the fact she had already eaten dinner, she would try some of the food prepared for the guests. While grabbing a few things to nibble on, Sam thought about her purpose there. Considering there was a party going on, Sam highly doubted that bakura was on board the ship… But even if he wasn't currently on the ship, that does not mean he hasn't been before and now. Spotting a man in uniform, Sam decided to start asking some questions. "Excuse me sir," she said as she approached the man. "Yes? May help you ma'am"? He replied "do you work here, on the midway?" should mark she asked. "Yes ma'am." "Well then, I was wondering if you knew anything about the food break in to the kitchen here." "Yes." Said the man "we have had a few break-ins to our kitchen, but I can assure you nothing of value was stolen, and we are fairly certain of the safety of the guests tonight." "Well that's a relief. I only read the article this morning." She said "I honestly though, I thought it was strange that the person only stole food, and nothing from the cash registers or any money at all." "It was probably for the food, perhaps a homeless man." He replied. "Well," Sam continued "that's the thing that bothered me the most sir. Even if someone was homeless, if they were to break into the kitchen for some food multiple times… even if they were homeless, wouldn't they take the money too? They could use the money to buy food. It's not a really thought about detail." "It is strange, now that you say that." the man said. We don't have security kept in the kitchen, Or much else anywhere but the gift shop. This is after all the old Navy ship: there is no place to mount them, or attach the unit. This ship wasn't made originally for the purpose of becoming a historical museum."

Sam ended up having a nice long intelligent conversation with the crewman. Unfortunately, her new friend was called away to work about the party. Continuing on, Sam just decided to sit down with the food she gathered for herself and think quietly while she ate. It was about that time that everyone else sat down as well, and a man went to the speakerphone onstage to start talking about the midway. Sam just drowned out the sound of his microphone with her own thoughts she continued to ponder the possibilities of bakura still remaining nearby.

Far above the party at the captain's lookout, two violet eyes looked down on the commotion. _What a loud and obnoxious man_. Bakura thought to himself about the man at the microphone. _Never knew anyone could speak so loud_. It was quite a sight from up above, and bakura enjoyed it. He was at the very top of the ship, and luckily for him the stairway up to where he was had been roped off so he would no longer have to worry about running into other people. The outside stairway to the captain's lookout point served to be somewhat of a balcony for him, as he exited that door and sat down on the cold metal. The breeze was nice, if not a bit cool in comparison to the Egyptian night air he was used to. Bakura loved feeling invisible, and so also being high above them all added to his pleasure. He could attack them all with one blast from his Diabound and they would all be dead in that one shot. Looking down on the party, he tempted the idea but decided it was too much effort. They weren't worth his time. And so, he just looked on from the darkness high above them.

"Hey there. Is this seat taken?" Sam looked up from her plate to find a middle-aged man smiling down at her. "Not at all." she said. "Thanks." he said as he sat down. "So," he continued "are you from here, or from out of town?" "Out of town." She replied, now trying to pretend to be to paying close attention to the speech. No offense to him, but she just needed to be left alone to her thoughts. "Same here." he replied. "Always wanted to come to California, it's supposed to be the best place, and even perfect in some ways. I just got here a few days ago, and I must say I really like the weather. Not to mention that it seems everyone here seems to look like supermodels. You don't really see that anywhere else." _Where is he going with this?_ Sam thought casually. "Well," she replied "that's probably because half the people here have Botox injections just about everywhere on their body." The man laughed "and what about you then?" His arm casually wrapped around her shoulder.

She just HAD to run into a perv today. Being polite, she stayed to continue light conversation for about five minutes more, but insisted on leaving the table after that. Pretending to go search for the washroom, she headed for one of the doors back inside to the ship. As she opened the hatch door, she glanced behind her to see the man slowly following her. _Just great,_ she thought _he thinks I was hinting to him_. Shutting the door behind her, she quickly ran down the corridor, turned the corner and went up a few flights of stairs so that she would lose him. With not much else to do, Sam decided to just wander for a bit. Glancing over her map that she was given, she turned down another hall way. _The captain's lookout sounds like it would have a nice view._

_Someone's coming._ Bakura dashed inside and hid behind a large table, where maps and papers were placed.

"Ahh, Perfect." Sam said to herself opening the hatch door. It was a small and cozy room, but with enough windows to see the sky all around her. This was just the quiet her time she needed. Leaning forward on one of the control panels, she crossed her legs and looked out the window. It looked so nice and beautiful, seeing the ship from above. She could just picture the midway being at sea, and seeing nothing but ocean and sky as far as her eyes would take her. THIS was a place where she could be leftover thoughts_. If I could find the kitchen, perhaps I could find out if bakura was really there._ Was there anywhere else in the ship she should check? Sam was making a checklist of places in her head while she enjoyed the peace and quiet that came with the current view.

_This woman_… bakura was peering over from the side of the table_. She seems familiar... I'd seen her somewhere._ From where he was, all he could see was her back, but she definitely seemed to be someone he had seen before. Could she have been from that shop that he had attacked? No, that wasn't it... _Wait..._

Aloud, Sam sighed. Where could he be?" Standing up straight again, Sam took out a pen from her pocket, circling the areas of the ship she would try to look through before she left. While writing down her notes, she turned to head for the door.

Pain shot through her shoulder as Sam found herself slammed against the wall. "Aaaagh!" She cried out, wincing. She dropped both the paper and pen as she grabbed her other arm. Two hands slammed onto the wall on both sides of her. "You! You're the woman from the storm!" The words were practically yelled in her ear, he was so close. Daring to take a glance at who the man was, Sam looked up** i**nto his face. "B…Bakura…." A smirked went across his face as he looked down on her. "I thought so. You seemed to know who I was last time I saw you, but now I know for certain." His grin widened into an utmost evil smile. "What are the chances that I meet you again? You wouldn't perhaps be following me, would you?"

Sam's mind raced. _WhatdoidowhatdoIdoWHAT DO I DO? _She gulped. "n-no…I…I was…" "Yes?" "I was looking … for you." "Oh really?" he said dangerously. "Considering how far we are from our past meeting place, I'd say so. And pray tell, what business do you have with me?" "Y-Yes…I, uh-" "You wouldn't be trying to hunt me down like the rest of those fools, would you?" "No! No I- I want to help you!" It was the only thing Sam could think to say. "Help ME, you say? And just what makes you think I need help from a little peasant girl like you, you little liar?" "Because …you're in the wrong world…I mean, t-the wrong reality." Bakura raised an eyebrow. Sam began to ramble. "This is an alternate reality than where you're from. I-I want to help you get back to Egypt so you can finish off the pharaoh. H-He deserves to die… a-after what his family did to you…" the words Sam spouted were words of betrayal, but what good could she be to her cause if she ended up dead here and now? "A…And-" after another minute, she couldn't think of much else to say. Bakura cut** into** her words. "And just how is it you know all that?" "B-Because…" then Sam had an idea, and decided to give it a shot. Sam looked to the side, with a forced blush. "Because you're legendary."

After a moment, Bakura sneered. "Oh, am I now?" without looking back at him Sam nodded, continuing her false blush. "Heh." Bakura backed up off her. "Well isn't that something?" he said to himself. "So tell me, just how is it you plan on helping?" he kept his evil grin. "I-I've been practicing magic, and I think I can open a portal back to your world…but there are holes in the spell, I-I'd still need to fix it up a bit…" "I see. Interesting. What is your name, girl?" "S-Samantha." Bakura began to step forward towards her again, but then they both heard footsteps from the stairway.

Sam panicked. Grabbing Bakura's arm, she rushed them behind the table and ducked down. The door opened and Sam recognized who it was. _The perv._ Sam grimaced. He was still looking for her? _That creep. You're the LAST thing I need right now! _The man glanced over the room: "you hoo! Are you in here my sweet?" he said as he searched the room. Bakura was distracted by the mans presence, so Sam stuck her hand in her pocket for her phone. _This could be my only time to tell them._ Keeping her hand at her side, Sam sent a text to Shada's phone: **…[** 'I found him' **] …** praying that they would understand it: she had never explained a text message. What would happen after this? Sam wasn't sure if she could meet back up with the priests now. Sam slipped the cell back into her pocket.

"That bitch." The perv said as he gave up. He muttered as he left, closing the door again. "Phew." Sam breathed a sigh. With a bit of her confidence back, she stood up. "I think we should get you off this ship. I can find you a much more comfortable place to stay. But you would have to sneak out with me wearing a disguise, otherwise people will recognize you." "Oh?" he said. Sam remembered she needed to play timid. "T-that is, if you want." "Well I can't say I dislike the idea, this place is really troublesome." He grumbled. Sam saw her chance. "… Well then I will need to go back to where I'm staying to get you some other clothes. I could bring them back here tomorrow for you…" A glint of suspicion shone in Bakura's eye. He stood close to her, and pulled Sam's chin in towards him. "Am I to suppose that this isn't some trick to release you? You're going to report me, I believe." "No! I-I wouldn't dare of-" "prove it. Prove your loyalty to my cause." _How? Prove loyalty to him?_ Did he want her to kill? Steal? Probably so. But Sam didn't want to, so on a whim, she took a chance: she kissed him. Doing so, she leaned into his arms and put her hands on his chest. Bakura seemed amused. After a minute, she backed away a bit to see his reaction. He seemed devilishly pleased, and it gave Sam frightened shivers. "Very well." He said. "Please do. However if you do not return, I shall find you myself, no matter who will see me. Understand?"

And so Bakura let Sam go. Exiting the USS Midway, Sam walked slowly. Bakura was still at the lookout, watching her. She couldn't run, she HAD to walk, and the tension it caused almost made her tremble with fear. He had tasted horrible, and losing her first kiss to that monster made her heart sink, but Samantha had to push those simple thoughts out of her head however, because she now needed a plan for tomorrow. She couldn't bear to think of the consequences if something went wrong. In the midst of her fear, she found a thought that she had kept in the back of her mind: _How far am I willing to go to help these priests?_


	13. Chapter 13 'Worry'

"H-Hm?" Shada stirred from his deep sleep. The bed was so comfy he really did not want to get up. _What is that noise?_ He thought, while blindly reaching out for whatever had made him wake. Working his grip around the cell phone at the bedside table, Shada realized exactly what that sound meant. _Why has Ms. Samantha called me? Couldn't she simply of walked down the hall to the room? Perhaps she is stuck in her sleep attire..._ Shada thought in the ancient proper ways of the royalty. Flipping open the phone, Shada tightly shut one eye so as to adjust his site to the blinding screen. _Shouldn't this phone still be ringing until I can pick up? _Pressing the call button, Shada put the phone up to his ear and quietly tried to answer. "Ms. Samantha? Is something wrong?" No answer. "Ms. Samantha?" Pulling the phone away from his ear, Shada looked at the screen again. This time, it was covered in the words of Sam's text message. _What is this?_ Shada Thought. _This is Ms. Samantha's language_. Something did not feel right inside Shada, he was not talking directly to Ms. Samantha as she had shown him how. Getting up off his bed, Shada took the phone with him into the connecting room where Mahad slept on the couch. "Mahad. Mahad wake up." Mahad stirred at the sound of someone calling his name. After opening his eyes, he'd meet immediately squinted. "Gah! What is that horrid light? Shada?" After his eyes adjusted, I was able to see where Shada was clearly. "What is wrong at this late hour, Shada?" He sat up to properly face his fellow priest. "I apologize for waking you Mahad," Shada began, "but the device Ms. Samantha gave me is acting strangely. I awoke to the sound it makes when Ms. Samantha is trying to contact me, however when I try to answer her I did not get a response. All it gave me was the symbols of her language." "You want me to translate it for you?" Mahad asked. "If you would." Mahad sighed and Shada put the phone into Mahad's outstretched hand. On the other side of the room, Karim awoke to the sound of their voices. "Is something wrong?" He asked. "I'm not sure." Shada replied to him. Turning his attention back to the cell phone, Mahad examined the letters on the screen and read them aloud. "It says: "I… found … him"." The message rang deeply in their brains. "Found him?" Karim said, pulling off the blanket and getting up to join them over by the couch. "What does it-does this mean Ms. Samantha found Bakura? Isn't she back in the other room with Isis?" "She must have either seen him outside of her window then, or caught sight of him again inside that "television" in her room like we had before." Mahad replied. "I shall wake the others." Karim said and left them to do so. Shada stared at the floor, deep in his own thoughts. "I don't understand." "Hm?" Mahad turned to him. "What is it?" "Ms. Samantha taught me how we could contact each other through this device, and yet it acted differently in giving us her message. Also, why did she not simply come and knock on our door to wake us?" "That is odd." Mahad agreed. Shada pulled himself out of his thoughts and left the room, with Mahad directly behind him.

*Knock knock* Isis woke to the sound of someone at the door. Putting on a robe, she went to the door and called out. "Who is it?" "Shada." "Oh." Isis unlocked the door and opened it for them. "Is something wrong? Why come so late?" "Sorry to wake you Isis," Mahad said "but we need to ask Ms. Samantha about the strange message we received from her." "Message?" Isis wasn't quite sure she understood. "What message?" She turned to look back into the dark room, and that's when she realized Ms. Samantha's bed was empty.

Sam stopped and sat down on a docking post along the bay. She had just gone out of sight of the Midway. She took this moment to calm herself down a bit, she was breathing too hard. _After that text message I sent them, there's going to be a lot of questions. But that was just in case I was not able to get back to them so they would at least know what happened to me. But what do I do now?_ Sam leaned her elbows on her legs and letter her head hang low. _Plan... I need a plan. How am I going to hide Bakura, the cops are looking for him everywhere now…. Oh-oh no-_ a realization came over her, _if I do get him out of there, this means that he will be with me from now on and I won't be able to be with the priests._

"Ms. Samantha's gone." Shada said as he Mahad and Isis entered back into the previous hotel room. By then, Karim had all the other priests up, and the light was on. "Gone where?" Seto asked. "I don't know," said Isis. "She must have left out on her own while I was asleep. But why did she not wake me?" "What matters now," Auknadin said as he stood up from the chair and walked over to them, putting his hand on Isis's shoulder "is whether or not we hear from her again. She may have just wanted to check on an idea and not want to deprive us of our sleep. The fact that she has at least seen Bakura, means that he is nearby." "Yes," said Karim "but what if something happened or Bakura found her? Do we know anything of where she could have gone?" "… No." Mahad said with a defeated tone "there is no clue as to where she went."

Sam nervously slides the room key into the lock, her hand still shaking a bit. The light on the lock turns green and she pushes open the door. Closing the door behind her she leans against it and lets out a sigh of relief. At least she is safe for now. After a moment, she realizes that the lights are on. "Isis?" Sam looks around the hotel room_. The other priests must have come to get her when I sent Shada my message: they must be back at the other rooms. _Sam wanted to run to their room, she would feel safer around them, more than she did now alone in her own empty one. But she had to get a hold of herself first. Sam went into the small bathroom. Turning on the sink, she splashed ice cold water on her face. _I can't go see them all spazzed is out like this. I need to think through how I am going to explain what happened. _Sam pulled her head up from the sink and let the water drip down her face. As she looked in the mirror, Sam realized that she looked as tired as she felt. Whipping the hand towel off the rack, she dried her off her face and headed off to meet up with the rest of them.

Sam's hand had barely hit the wood of the hotel room door when it flew open. "Ms. Samantha!" Shada exclaimed, with a slight hint of relief. "What happened? Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm fine." Sam walked into the room and all of the guardians came up to her. "We received your message," Mahad said "does this mean that you have found Bakura?" Sam was silent for a few seconds, thinking hard about how she would explain herself, but she already knew how to answer his question. "Yes, I found him." "Where?" Asked Seto "do you remember seeing the large metal ship along the waterfront Seto? Shada?" "I recall it." Said Seto. "That is where I found him." "How did you know to look there?" Asked Auknadin. "I…" Sam's body began to feel heavy "…do you mind if I sit down first?" Isis and Shada helped Sam over to a chair; Sam began to feel so tired that Mahad had to help her sit down. "Sorry," she said, "I don't know why my body feels so heavy all of a sudden." "I do not think it's anything to worry about Ms. Samantha," Mahad said reassuringly "you have just recently begun the practice of magic. You are not use to the pressure a powerful person's Ba can give off. Bakura lets his Ba flow from him constantly, upsetting the flow of others." "Ba… you mean Bakura's spiritual power and energy, right?" Mahad nodded. "Now please, Ms. Samantha, tell us what happened."

Sam decided just to give them basic idea of what happened, she didn't think some of the details seemed appropriate "…. I had to convince him that I was on his side. I swore to come get him and hide him in a better place tomorrow, otherwise he would not have let me go." "Did he hurt you?" Asked Karim. "No. What should I do now? I… I think I've got a good idea of how to get him out of that place, but what do I do with him then? Do I hide him in a different hotel? I cannot bring him back here, and once he is with me I can't come back here either…." "We need to keep Bakura away from the other people around us." Seto said crossing his arms. "The thing is, Bakura doesn't seem to be the type who would simply sit quietly inside a hotel room, so we would need to get him someplace secluded before we could try anything. Is there any such place nearby?" "Well, there is a forest only a few hours from here…" "That will have to do." Seto said "but Seto," Shada brought up "the current situation requires that we travel separately from Ms. Samantha. How are we to meet up with her inside this forest?" "I'm sure I could set up an easy way for you all to get there without me, and a randevue point. It is a national forest. I'm fairly certain there are cabins and possibly a hotel somewhere inside, because it is so huge." Besides, Sam could tell the priests felt uncomfortable about her having to travel alone with Bakura "we can still keep contact using the cell phones. It would be easiest if our contact remained text messages though." "You mean like the one you sent us earlier?" Sam nodded. "Since I no longer have a choice," Sam said, getting up "I'll go get my laptop from our room and start planning out how to get you there on your own." She still felt heavy, so Mahad and Shada escorted her with Isis back to their room. As soon as Sam was going around the room getting the things she would need, Shada pulled Isis and Mahad over. "He laid a hand on her." "What?" Mahad was confused. "Bakura. He laid a hand on her, hit her, grabbed her or something of the sort." "Why do you think so?" asked Isis. "I can sense his energy on her, like I sensed his energy on the blood left by his victims at that shop." "I have to admit," Mahad said looking back at Sam, who was grabbing up a cable for her laptop "I thought I sensed something too, but Ms. Samantha didn't seem to be injured, so I didn't press the matter." "It was Ms. Samantha's personal choice not to tell us." Isis jumped in. "If she did not find it important enough to tell us, then it is none of our business."

_This is going to be the longest night of my life._ Sam thought to herself. She had to make reservations, explain a lot of things to the priests, juggle around some of the money and a lot more. This level of strategic planning wasn't exactly Sam's thing. "Okay," she said as she turned back to them "I've got everything, let's go back. There is a lot to be done."

Sequoia national Forest in California. That was to be their new destination.

The next day

"Are you sure you will be all right?" Sam asked them. "Do not worry." Auknadin said giving a nod. "We have studied your detailed instructions and I can assure you, we shall do just fine." "Okay." It was about two o'clock in the afternoon. Sam had stayed up late with all of them until 3 AM planning. There was a Greyhound bus that left at 3 PM for the Sequoia national Forest, and they were to take it all the way there. Sam already paid for their tickets with her debit card, and went to an ATM earlier that morning after she woke up to get them cash. Sam had also booked some rooms at a campsite for them inside the national Forest. For herself and Bakura, Sam had rented a cabin. It was going to take quite a few hours to get there, so after she awoke that morning, Sam went through every detail. Shada was in charge of the phone, and Mahad would do the text when need be. Sam gave Seto a map she had bought of the Sequoia national Forest that she herself had a copy of. Later on, they would figure out a randevue point when it was safe. Karim was in charge of the cash, and she had explained to him the amounts of what each meant. All of them were in the clothes Ms. Samantha had bought them, and had all of their things packed with them. As the bellhop brought up Ms. Samantha's Van, she set her own luggage in the trunk.

"Remember," she said standing next to them one last time "if something happens that you don't quite understand, send me a text message and I'll do my best to respond quickly." "All right." Said Mahad, nodding. "Ms. Samantha." Seto said. "Hm?" "On behalf of all of us, let me just say thank you and please stay safe until we meet again." Upon hearing this, Sam gave him a pat on the shoulder followed by a bright smile. She did not want to show them how frightened she really was. "Thank you Seto… all of you." She glanced them all over. "I will be just fine, not to worry." With that, she climbed into the van, turned the key and gave them a wave as she drove off.

The first thing Sam did was go shopping. She got herself a fairly large duffel bag, a baseball cap, and some tourists-like clothes for Bakura to change into; Her only chance was to sneak him out in plain sight.

With the spare close inside the duffel bag, Sam parked her Van outside the midway. _I still cannot believe I'm actually doing this…_ Sam locked the Van behind her, as she headed toward the ticket counter, bag in hand.


	14. Chapter 14 'Medication'

"Where should I look first?" Sam said aloud. She was leaning on the guard rail on the flight deck of the Midway. All the party decorations, tables and chairs the night before, so it was a nice wide open space with a cooling breeze. The sky was a deep blue, and the heat was just right. It didn't seem to look like the stressful day that it actually was; like what she knew was happening was completely separate from what the rest of the world saw that day. "'m pretty sure it is easier to hide in the lower part of the ship than out on top, so I guess the bottom decks would be my best bet."

She had mapped out a route she would take throughout the ship, making sure not to miss any hidden corridors. After two hours, Sam had yet to find bakura. _It's 4:30... At this rate the priests will be at the national forest before I even find him._ She hadn't expected it to take this long to find him. Out of frustration, Sam decided to forget about her plan, and just headed straight down into the very deepest parts of the ship to continue her search. _Common sense doesn't seem to be doing me much good in this situation anyway._

_I should have just done this in the first place_, Sam thought to herself. At the very thought, She found the back end of the ship was an empty storage area that was dark and full of shadows. Some younger kids wanted to play hide and seek in the dark area, but the parents didn't want them to cause any trouble, and escorted them out. "Behave yourself John!" Sam could hear the mother's shrill voice echoing in the hall behind her. The sound of the kid's laughter slowly died off into silence. When there wasn't any sign of anyone else in the area, Sam called out "Bakura? Are you in here?" Silence. Stepping past the doorway, Sam found herself in the darkness of the large room. "Bakura, I came back like you want me to do. Are you in here?" The only light was what came from doorway where Ms. Samantha had entered. Bakura stepped out of the darkness.

"And here I thought you weren't going to come. It took you quite a while." _Okay,_ Sam thought _time to go back __into__ timid mode_. "I- I had trouble finding you in here, T- this place is huge after all." Although, technically she didn't have to act too much. The smirk on his face really did give her the chills. So, he took the bag from her "what do we have here?" "C– Clothes. They're for you. It should be easy to get you out of here if you're dressed like everyone else" Bakura was rummaging through the bag. "What sort of hat is this?" He said, holding up a baseball cap. "A b-baseball cap." Her answer wasn't exactly much use to him, so he ignored it anyway. A noise down the hall caught their attention. Bakura leapt back into the darkness, leaving Sam alone in the light of the doorway. Quickly, she put everything back into the duffel bag, and took out her cell phone and placed it to her ear, as if talking to someone on the phone. An old couple walked up. After reading the plaque that was outside of the doorway, they took one peak in. Seeing as nothing was there, they turned and left for the next stop. Down the hall, Sam could be here the old man say "it's surprising that girl can even get cell phone reception in here, I sure as hell can't." When they were gone Bakura stepped back out. "I can't stand these people," he said with a slight snarl. "The sooner we get out of here, the better..." Sam gave the bag back to bakura.

"What the hell! How can you people stand this type of clothing?" Bakura was frustrated with all of the buttons that lined the front of his shirt. "Help me with this will you?" Bakura demanded. Sam, who had been keeping watch while Bakura changed, went up to him and fixed the buttons. Picking up the hat which had been sitting on top of the duffel bag, Sam held it up to him. "L-let me help you with this hat too, we need to hide all of your hair inside it." "Fine," he said, letting her take care of it. "So where are you planning on taking me exactly?" He asked, while Sam tucked his hair into the cap. "Well, considering the fact that you are a wanted criminal here now, I- I think it would be best if we get away from highly populated areas. There is a forest only a couple of hours from here. It would be safe there, and would be the easiest area to use for creating the portal back to your time." "I see..." Bakura said deep in thought. "And how do you propose we get there?" "I have transportation already set up". Sam replied "as long as you are not recognized while we get out of here, everything sure to turn out fine." Bakura put his regular clothes back into Sam's bag and picked it up, swinging it strap over his shoulder. "Alright then, let's go. I can barely stand another minute in this place."

Sam never felt so nervous before. She didn't want to be caught helping a wanted criminal, but to be realistic she figured that Bakura would end up killing anyone who tried to stop them. Sam did not want that either, so it was a no win situation if they were caught. Sam was surprised though that no one seemed to notice them on their way back out of the ship. It seems like ours to Sam, but was only minutes by the time they got back to the flight deck. Sam's shoulders stiffened while she and Bakura walked slowly past some security guards. "This way." Sam said quietly and let him towards the Van. As they reached the vehicle, Bakura placed his hand on the metal. "What is this thing anyway?" "A car." Sam replied "they are used for transportation, rather than horses." "Ah." Sam opened the passenger door and motioned for bakura to get in. He did, and Sam went in on the other side. With both the doors shut, Sam started to breathe a little better, but knew they were not in the clear yet. "Who are you anyway?" Bakura asked. "Oh, uh... my name is Samantha." Sam was surprised he even wanted to know. Turning the car keys, Sam slowly drove out of the parking lot and onto the main road. "Once we get to where we are going, you can change back into your normal clothes." Bakura was tugging on the shirt collar. "Teh." He scoffed frustratingly.

"I do not like this thing." Seto growled under his breath. "Ms. Samantha's smaller vehicle was far better than this." "Seto, will you stop complaining?" Isis remarked "comfort isn't a luxury we can afford right now." The six priests were on board a Greyhound bus heading towards Sequoia national Park. It was only a 3 Hour drive, but felt longer to Seto because of how cramped they were. "I agree with Isis." Said Mahad from across the aisle. "If you do not like how we are traveling, think of how Ms. Samantha has to travel with bakura… alone." Seto didn't reply to that. On one side of the aisle, were Shada, Karim and Mahad, while the other side contained Isis, Seto and Auknadin. The group stayed silent for a while, while they pondered what could possibly the going on with Ms. Samantha.

A while later, the bus stopped for a break at a gas station. "Alright everyone," the driver said over the intercom "you have 20 minutes and after that we will be back on the road." As the mass of people filed out of the bus, Seto took this time to stretch. "Thank the gods." He said under his breath. "I don't suppose we could get something to eat?" Auknadin suggested. "I am sure there is something around here." Mahad said. The priests followed the rest of the Greyhound bus group into the gas station.

"All these snacks look interesting." Karim said. "What does this one say Mahad?" He held out a small cracker bag towards him. "It says Cheez-it's… seems to be a salty cheese flavored snack." "I shall grab a couple for later." Karim said, picking up a few extra. "These are strange drinks..." Seto said, looking through a glass door into the cooler. _Ms. Samantha did not have any of these at her home_. Debating what he should get, Seto noticed a symbol on a few drinks. _That's the symbol that was on the building were bakura attacked._ He thought. Unable to read what the glass bottles and cans said, and too proud to ask Mahad, Seto asked an old lady from the bus next to him. "Excuse me ma'am, but I cannot read your language. Could you tell me what this is?" The short, old woman next to him leaned closer and over the rim of her classes. "My dear boy, that is Starbucks coffee." "Coffee?" The old woman looked at him. "Where are you from? I've never met a young man who has not had coffee before." " … I am from Egypt." He said. The old woman chuckled happily. "While I'll be! I've never met an Egyptian!" The old woman opened the glass door and took out one of the cans of coffee. "It is an energy sort of drink." "That sounds useful," he replied "I should get more for my companions." "Anything else you need dearie?"

Once everyone had their things together, they followed the example of the others and brought their items to the service desk, where Mahad paid for it with a credit card Ms. Samantha had given him. The cashier had a questioning look on his face when Mahad signed his name in the ancient Egyptian, but the man didn't say anything. Back on the bus, Seto thanked the old woman again as she returned to her seat with her husband. With everyone seated, the bus began on its way. The priests divided up the food they bought. "Shada… Shada!" Karim snapped Shada out of his gaze out the window. "Hm?" "Here." Karim passed him a drink. "… Thank you." He said taking it. Without opening it, Shada returned to looking out the window. "You're troubled." Stated Mahad, from the other side of Karim. "What? Oh, yes." "I am sure that Ms. Samantha will be alright." Mahad reassured him. "Yes," Karim nodded "Bakura thinks Ms. Samantha is his ally. It would be a disadvantage to him to reject her help." "I am aware of that," Shada said, taking the cell phone out of his pocket "However He has already laid his hands on her once, I sensed hit immediately when Ms. Samantha returned the other night." Shada stared at the phone in his hand. "Just because his sees her as an ally of sorts does not mean that she is safe."

The drive was fairly quiet. Other than a few questions bakura asked Sam, neither of them talked. Sam was too nervous to start up a conversation, so she let it be. "Interesting." Bakura said. "Y-yes?" "These trees your country has are enormous." Bakura opened the window to look up. The two had just entered the forest area. "I have s-set up a place where we can stay the night. A cabin." Sam said. "It's about half way in."

About an hour later, Sam pulled up to a wood cabin. They were deep in the forest, so it was highly unlikely to find any other people coming along, and no other cars were allowed down the dirt road she had to take to get off the regular path, except for who had reserved the cabin. "It is about time." Bakura said, stretching. Using the key she was given at the forest entrance gate, Sam opened the cabin door. "This will have to do for now." She said. The cabin had two bedrooms, a bath and a very tiny kitchen. Sam liked how the windows were nice and wide; letting lots of light. At almost the exact moment she thought this, Bakura went at closed the curtains on all of them. "Ahh," he sighed. "Much better."_ I should have known he'd do that. _Sam went and put her case in the other room. When she went back to Bakura's room, his bag was still there, but he was gone. _Crap! I let him out of my sight for one second, and he's gone! _"Bakura!" She called out the door. No answer. Looking around, she spotted him on a branch high up in the nearest tree. "The view from up here is astounding…" He called down to her. "It is a Pity we don't have these in Egypt." Bakura then looked down to her. "I'm going to stay up her for a while. Make some dinner." It wasn't a question. "O-okay."

Ms. Samantha had written down directions for the priests to follow in order to attain the room she had reserved for them at the Inn. Reading them once more, Mahad led the group to the front desk, as the rest of the Greyhound bus group parted the other way and disappeared to their own, already acquired rooms. Once they had the keys, the priests headed up: Third floor. Opening the door, the group of 6 filed in, with Seto closing and locking the door behind them. Isis flipped the light switch. "It is a bit small for all of us," Auknadin said, looking around "but it shall do just fine for now." Karim set their suitcase on top of a dresser. "Do you suppose Ms. Samantha is here yet?" He said. "She said she would call us, to arrange a meeting once she arrived." Commented Shada, glancing at the phone in his hand. "Well until then we should prepare for the spell we must conjure." Seto said. "You have finished the plans I assume, Mahad." "Yes." He replied "I finished just before we arrived." "Then let's get to work, and wait for Ms. Samantha." said Karim.

A few sandwiches were all she could muster up, but Sam figured it was enough. Besides, she figured it would allow her enough time to text the priests about a meeting place. _It's too risky to call, bakura might hear me if he comes down from the tree before I realize it._

Sam poured two glasses of orange juice, which she had stopped to get along with the food before going into the forest area. Reaching into her pocket, same pulled out a small bottle. _I have to make sure he doesn't follow me tonight. _Using a spoon, Sam ground up three sleeping pills she had taken from home, and stirred it into Bakura's glass. _I figured the only way we could capture him was if he was knocked out, but this works too. _Putting both glasses on the counter, Sam pondered. _I need to let him take the glass. He might not trust me if I hand it to him. _Considering Bakura's personality, Sam poured more juice into Bakura's glass, so it was visible that it had more. _I hope this works._

It did. Bakura took the glass that had more juice. He ended up not caring too much for the sandwiches, but ironically liked the orange juice. An hour later, he felt tired. Really tired. "Well I guess I shall take my leave." He said, getting up from the table and heading to the bedroom. Stopping, he looked over his shoulder to Sam. "Care to join me?" Bakura said with a most evil grin. Sam turned bright red. Her fear must have shown in her face, because bakura began to laugh. "I'm just kidding, you know." He began to go back down the hall. "I'm too tired for anything of that sort." Sam waited an hour after that. Bakura was out like a light within ten minutes, but Sam wanted to make sure the medication had a firm hold on him before she left. Putting her shoes on, Sam slipped out the door.

Halfway between the inn and the cabin, there was a slightly more open area between the trees. It was secluded, and big enough for the work that needed to be done. The bigger openings between the trees let in enough moonlight to see by, and made it look like a calming space. In the middle of it, stood the 6 priests. "Alright." Mahad said. "We will each need to activate the portal from a different side." He directed the other 5 to their places. "At each of your stations, I need you to carve these symbols into the ground." Mahad showed them a diagram he had made. The 5 set to work, and Mahad went back to the center, to map out the rest of the symbols. "What now?" Isis called from her spot. "You will need to put one drop of your blood on each symbol." The priests bit their index fingers, and did so. "I hear something." Seto said, hushing the others. They then spotted Sam, just barely noticeable off the edge of their area. Shada was closest. He walked hurriedly over to her and grabbed her shoulders. "Are you alright? He asked sternly. "Huh? Yes, I'm fine." "He didn't do anything to you, did he?" "What? No-no, I'm fine Shada." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I'm glad you are safe, Ms. Samantha. I was concerned because he had already touched you before, and I didn't know if he would do you harm. Bakura is hardly the polite type." "…How did you know he touched me?" Sam asked. "I was able to sense his power around you when you returned that night." Shada said. "Oh." Sam felt awkward and guilty again. The others began to walk towards her. "I'm glad you made it here safely, Ms. Samantha." Mahad said. "Are you certain that you were not followed?" Auknadin asked. "I'm positive." She said. "I drugged his drink, so he shouldn't be up until late tomorrow morning." Sam felt quite proud of herself, and smiled when she said it. "I'm surprised he trusts you so much already." Shada commented. He then realized he was still holding her shoulders, so Shada let her go. "No one knows how that deranged thief thinks." scoffed Seto, crossing his arms. "There is a lot to do by the end of tonight." Said Mahad. "Now that you're her Ms. Samantha, let us get to work." "Alright," Sam said, following Mahad towards the center, "tell me what to do."


	15. Chapter 15 'Trust'

"This is quite a setup." Bakura commented as he and Sam walked through the clearing. Sam had to agree; in broad daylight it looked a lot like the Transmutations circles from the Anime 'Fullmetal Alchemist.' It was almost noon, and Sam was as ready as she would ever be the next step. "Did you do this all last night?" Bakura asked. "Oh? y-yes. Took a long time." Sam walked with Bakura to center, wearing her normal jeans, black T-shirt and a messenger bag with papers and supplies.

The previous night:

"What do you mean?" Sam asked Mahad. "We are not going through the portal." Mahad replied. The two of them were standing alone in the center of the circle, the others busy with the setup. "Th… then what's all this for!" Mahad had a sad sigh. "In order for it to be powerful enough to allow all six of us to pass through, this ritual needs to be done from both sides, unfortunately." "Then... What can we do?" Mahad didn't say anything, and just looked at the ground. Sam tried idea. "Well... How many can get through? Maybe we can send a few of the others through the portal still." Mahad looked at Sam with a sad smile "…Ms. Samantha, this will only work correctly if _you_ go through." "W-What?" "Because of the fact were born to this reality will make it easier for the portal to open from our reality, if you go. The chances for the portal acting successfully increase drastically." Mahad saw the look on Sam's face. He put a hand on her holder. "Ms. Samantha, I know we have asked your help from the first day, but you not obligated to. If you don't w-" "It's okay Mahad, I'm fine... I... I guess I'll do it. After all I've done to try and help, I not going to abandon all of you." "You wouldn't be." "But that's not what it would feel like to me Mahad." Sam sighed "I'm not going to lie though, I'm scared as hell." Mahad gave a sad, crooked smile again. "And I don't blame you... Thank you." "What do I do about Bakura then?" The two of them started to walk over to a bag of notes Mahad had brought and left under a tree. "I have everything planned out, so don't worry Ms. Samantha, I already know what we should do with him."

"How exactly is this going to work, hm?" Bakura said, standing in the center of the portal circle. Sam was going around to the six points around the outer adage, setting up... Or at least acting that she was. Each of the six points was hidden behind a tree or bush. Kneeling down at every point was one of the priests. Sam needed to make sure they were all ready. "Oh, I'm just putting a bit of my blood at each end. I-I need to order for the portal to open for me." "And what happens me if this doesn't work?" "It _will_ work! It has to, because I'm going through it also. That way, your safety is guaranteed." Sam walked back to the center. Everything was set. "Oh? Well well, aren't you loyal." He said, giving his signature grin. "Then shall we go now that you're ready, my dear Samantha?" Bakura held her chin. A chill went down Sam's spine. "Y-Yes." She turned away, out of his grasp. Kneeling down, Sam placed both hands in the center of the circle and closed her eyes.

_That's the signal!_ Isis put her item on her part of the circle and focused her energy. All the priests did the same. a gust of air began to rise from below Sam and Bakura. Sam gulped _here we go..._ Standing back up, she held her hand out to Bakura "hold on." As Bakura took her hand, beams of light shot up around the two of them and began to widen from the center out. Both Sam and Bakura began to float as the beams surrounded them. Then, there was a large FLASH, and they were gone. The priests came out of their hiding places, looking to the now empty circle. "Thank you, Ms. Samantha." Isis said. All of the priests gathered together in the clearing. Seto smirked at Mahad. "I told you it was a good idea to send Bakura through the first." Mahad sighed. "Seto, in the terminology of this world... 'Shut up'."

In the surrounding, and now swirling light were Sam and Bakura. "When will this end, it's hurting my eyes." Bakura complained. "Soon." Was all Sam could reply with. Both of them ended up closing their eyes in order to try and prevent the woozy feeling that was welling up from inside. It didn't work, and Sam and Bakura passed out, losing their grip on each other.

The ground beneath Sam felt cold. Slowly, she pried her eyes open. _Where am I?_ After letting her eyes adjust, Sam got a good view of her surroundings. She was lying on a cold stone floor. There were chairs, and a circular table made of stone. _Hey, this looks like..._ Sam recognized the room from the Anime. It was the High Priest Court Hall, the place the priests had last been before coming to her reality. Sam stood up. the large windows showed that it was night_. I can't believe it... I'm actually here!_ Sam gave a little squeal of excitement. _Oh my God it worked! No way no way no way no way no way!_ "Haha!" Sam ran to one of the windows "you were right to Mahad! It worked!" Sam said to no one in to particular, just out of pure happiness. Sam looked wide-eyed at the Palace before her. _Gasp! And those are the tablet shrines!_ It all seemed so real to her, but this time it was because it **WAS** real.

Sam was thrown back suddenly by an explosion outside. "W-Wah?" Sam hit the floor. She got up immediately and ran back to the window. There was yelling down below in the courtyard. Sam leaned a bit out to see what was going on. That's when Diabound flew by the window. _Bakura!_ Far off, she could see Bakura running for the palace gates. That's when Sam remembered that she had come with Bakura and they became separated in the portal. Scratching the back of her head, Sam sighed. _At least I know we were 100% successful._ Footsteps could be heard down the hall. "High priests!" A guard yelled down the hall as he approached. "Bakura has been cited on the grounds! High prie-" he turned the corner to find an empty chamber, and Sam. "Who are you!" He drew his spear. Sam was caught unprepared. "Oh! Wait! Uh… I'm not-" the Palace guard grabbed her and yelled "intruder! We have the second intruder!" More guards came at his call. "W-Wait a second!" Sam said desperately. "I'm not an intruder! I-" "silence!" The first guard yelled, "What have you done to the Pharaoh's court? We have guard stationed at every entrance, and yet I do not recognize you!" The other guards joined in. "The priests were here only a moment ago!" "Perhaps she was with Bakura!" "No! I'm not!" Sam yelled "I'm on your side! Mahad sends me here!" But her yelling was ignored. The guards took her to the dungeons and locked her in one of the cells. "We have no time to deal with you," one of them said, locking the door. "We must go after the thief Bakura. Your fate shall be decided later." He ran off with the rest of the guards. "Wait!" She yelled, "I can help!" But he was gone.

"What is going on?" The Pharaoh turned from the balcony scene below him to the guard that just entered his sleeping quarters. "My King!" The guard bowed. "It appears that Bakura never left the Palace! We found leaving the priests quarters!" "What!" "All of the priests are missing too sir! We fear Bakura may have attacked them." "That's impossible! All of them together? How could they ALL be gone?" The King clenched his fists. "Where is Bakura now?" Most of the court guards had gone after him sir, but I fear they will not catch him. He is too powerful for us mere guards to confine." Putting on his millennium puzzle and cloak the Pharaoh stormed out of his quarters. "Fine then. I guess all that can be done now is to regroup and work on the situation at hand." The guard followed after him "call all the remaining guards took the throne room, and alert Solomon. Finding what happened to the priests is our only priority right now!" "Yes sir!"

Upon entering the throne room, the Pharaoh found everyone ready in wait, as he had ordered. Sitting upon his throne he said "Everyone! I want to know every detail of what has happened. I want to know exactly where Bakura was found, and when the priests were found missing. Every detail counts if we are to find the priests!"

An hour past. Nothing was discovered that determined any possible answers. Frustrated, the Pharaoh layed his forehead on his hand. _What did Bakura do? What do _**_I_**_ do?..._ Glancing up, he noticed some motion in the far back. Lifting his head, he saw that it was the rest of the palace guards returning from the chase with Bakura. "Guards, report your findings." "Sir, I'm sorry we have failed you. We could not stop his escape." The head guard in the group knelt down on one knee, bowing deeply. The others behind him followed suit. "However, before we departed we found a stranger in the High Priest Court Hall when we went to alert the priests." The Pharaoh sat up straight "stranger?" "Yes, she was immediately put into confinement, as we hurried to follow orders Your Highness. We believe it is possible the woman could have aided Bakura in his assault." " 'She'?" Pharaoh asked. "Yes." "Although I must say the woman wore the strangest of garments." Mumbling of agreement spread between the guards behind him. The Pharaoh stood. "Bring her here, immediately!"

Sam sat on the floor, leaning against the stone wall of her cell. _... I definitely didn't expect this._ She sighed. On the upside, at least she was in the Palace. Although, being tied up hand and foot wasn't exactly what she had in mind for a welcome. There was 'Clank' down the hall. "Woman." It was the same guard from before. "I am to take you before our King." He unlocked the cell door. "Really?" Sam stood up "wipe the smile from your face woman. It is time for you to admit your crimes and face judgment." _…Is that so, 'MAN'?_ The guard cut the bindings on her legs so she could walk. Sam hid her irritation and kept her comments to herself while she was escorted out of the dungeons.

_WHOA._ The throne room was huge! Much bigger than Sam had ever expected. Unfortunately, her awe was short-lived, as thousands of eyes glared at her and she was pushed forward toward the throne. As the front row of guards parted, the Pharaoh was revealed to her. _That's HIM! Eeee-! _One of the guards tripped her and forced her to bow, holding her head down. "This is the woman?" The Pharaoh asked, "Yes sir." _She __IS __dressed strangely... _The Pharaoh thought. Solomon, the Pharaoh's adviser stepped forward. "Peasant, you are charged with aiding a deadly thief, intrusion onto sacred ground and resisting our guards. You are in a great deal of trouble." _... Oh crap. _"W-Wait.. Please, I-" "if you want to be spared now is the only chance to explain yourself." "I know this doesn't look good, but I swear I've done nothing r-" "that can only be a lie, peasant woman. Do you not see where you are? Admit what you have done!" "I haven't done anything!" Sam lifted her head, only to have it immediately pushed back down. Solomon moved forward more. "What has Bakura done to the six sacred priests? How did you aid him?" "I didn't aid Bakura! I swear! If anything I'm trying to help-" "then how do you explain tha-" "oh will you just shut up Solomon and let me explain myself! That's what you want me to do, ISN'T IT?" Sam couldn't help herself, she was so pissed off. _…Oops._ "Why you wrench!" "Solomon!" The Pharaoh commanded. "Oh," Solomon backed off, "a 1000 pardons Your Highness, I lost my temper a bit." Solomon stepped back to the Pharaoh's side. There was a moment of silence. "Go on," Pharaoh said, "explain." "I-I'm not from here..." "Well that goes without saying," scoffed Solomon, eyeing her clothes. The Pharaoh held his hand up and Solomon closed his mouth. "I-I'm from... A different country, and a different time..." Sam hadn't thought out her explanation. "I suppose, if you had to sum it all up, I came from an entirely different reality altogether." And so began Sam's story.

"... And I found them. They are safe as of now Pharaoh, but they are waiting for me to open the portal back from here. Mahad himself gave me instructions, they are in my sack-" she gestured with her head to the guard holding her messenger bag. "Oh!" _stupid stupid stupid!_ "Mahad gave me a letter to give to you! It's in there!" The Pharaoh, who had remained silent, gestured to the guards. Her bounds were cut, and her bag handed to her. Sam rustled through all of the papers. "... It's in here somewhere... Ah!" Sam pulled out the only paper written in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. She handed it to a guard. "Mahad gave me this with his notes on the portal before sending me here." The guard gave the letter to the King. "... Your name is… 'Ms. Samantha'?" The Pharaoh said. "Y-yes!" "This is definitely Mahad handwriting, but this paper is strange." "Oh. Yes, it's some of mine. My country doesn't use papyrus paper." The Pharaoh wasn't so sure. "Hmm, let me see the other papers." The guards brought up to him Sam's bag. He and Solomon looked over the images drawn. "…These words I cannot read, but..." Solomon then spoke up "yes, but my King, these circles. The drawings are definitely high level sorcery- only learned through advanced training… this could only be Mahad's work!" A feeling of relief swept over Sam. _If even that old bat agrees, then that means..._ "Mahad has trusted you, and if my most powerful and loyal guardian trusts you, and so shall I, Ms. Samantha." The Pharaoh stood up, and walked down to her. "Thank you. Please help us retrieve our priests from your world." He held out the bag to her. Happiness welled up inside Samantha. Taking it, she said, "I will. I promise you Pharaoh." Sam bowed. This time it was of her own accord.


	16. Chapter 16 'Wrong'

_I've got to say, this is a lot better_.

Just hours before, she had been in the old, musty prison cell. Now, she was in her own personal room inside the Palace. It was large, and had beautiful rugs, tapestries, and even the two statues at the doorway. It was a simple and elegant room, with a balcony view that was better than anything she had ever seen before. Sam had just slept comfortably for about two hours in the bed given to her. In reality, she wasn't really all that tired, considering that she had just woken up when she was transported to this world, and then only an hour or maybe even two or three had gone by for her after that. However, it had been in the middle of the night when she arrived, so the rest of the Palace had returned to sleeping anyway. Stretching, Sam stepped out to the small balcony and looked out over the Palace grounds. The sun was just starting to rise, it was beautiful. _This is so cool._ She thought Sam had the urge to take pictures, but alas, she did not take her camera with her. For that she kicked herself.

"Excuse me, may I enter?" Came a voice from the hallway outside the doorway. "Yes." she said. To Sam's surprise it was the Pharaoh who entered. "Your Highness! I…uh, good morning." Sam quickly knelt down on one knee and bowed. "There is no need for that." The Pharaoh said. "Please get up. I wish to speak with you." He walked out to the balcony where Sam was. Sam didn't know what to say, she hadn't expected to see him without his guards. Sam stood up from her position. "Is something wrong your highness?" Leaning on the balcony rail, the Pharaoh was looking out past the Palace grounds to the city, where he could faintly see tattered ruins of some buildings, and smoke where fires had started the night before. "I wanted to thank you personally for helping our priests." He said. "Also, I want to apologize for how you were treated when you first arrived." "Oh, no no. It's all right. I mean, you are on high alert from just before when Bakura had come." There was some silence that followed. It lasted about a minute, and in that time both of them just ended up looking out towards the city. "Bakura… did a lot of damage just one night, didn't he?" Sam said quietly, more to herself than to the Pharaoh. "Yes." The Pharaoh turned back towards Sam. "Ms. Samantha, you speak of Bakura as if you know him... Would you please tell me how it is you are involved?" "What?" "How is it that you came to help our priests? Mahad told me in that letter that you even were able to trick Bakura into trusting you enough to bring him back through the portal Mahad made. You must have had enough courage and trust in your cause to do such a thing for us." Sam was quiet for a bit. "…. the priests and Bakura… I knew from history, that's how I knew who they were. When I found the priests I let them stay at my house until I could figure out what to do. I didn't know Bakura had come with them and they didn't either... Where I am from is a lot different than Egypt your highness," Sam looked back out at the Palace grounds. "Because there were a lot of things that Bakura was not able to understand... He ended up killing some people who were not meant to die, because he wasn't meant to be there. When we found out what had happened with Bakura, we went in search of him. On our way, Mahad had taught me some basic magician skills. When we found where he was hiding, in order to prevent any more trouble, I had to be the one to get him out. I had to say some pretty horrible things in order to get him to trust me and think that I was on his side." "… I'm sorry." The Pharaoh said "somehow, this fight's stretched over to another world where it was never meant to go. It has touched people it was never meant to touch, and taken what it was never supposed to take. You should not have been forced into our war, Ms. Samantha." He bowed his head to her slightly. "I just did what I thought I should do." Sam said, a little flustered that the Pharaoh had bowed to her. "My conscience wouldn't have let me do otherwise." "Pardon the intrusion," a guard appeared from the hallway. "But Mahad's students have all been gathered. We are ready, Your Highness." "Good." The Pharaoh said. he turned to Sam. "Every things ready according to Mahad's notes, Ms. Samantha. Let us go down to the courtyard." "Okay."

_Wow, Mahad must be some teacher._ Sam thought as she and the Pharaoh were escorted to the Palace grounds. She could see ahead of her Mahad students. She recognized one of them as Mana, but most of the others were men she didn't know. In Sam's eyes, they were all decked out like some of the spellcaster monsters from the card game. "Mana." The Pharaoh called. The young girl came up to Sam and the Pharaoh. "Pharaoh, are you sure this is going to work? None of us have nearly the same amount of power that master Mahad has." "Don't worry Mana," the Pharaoh said putting his hand on her shoulder "it will work. We have Ms. Samantha here. Mahad started teaching her as well while over in her world. All of you together should be able to do it." ""Ms. Samantha?" You have a strange name." Mana said, holding her hand out. "I'm Mana. I'm Mahad's top student, so don't worry, if you have any troubles just count on me!" _She's just as perky as I remember. _Sam thought smiling, and shaking Manas hand. "All right," Mana said, fist-pumping the air, "let's do this!"

Sam went over the papers Mahad had given her, walking around the set up. It was the exact same symbols in circles that Mahad had made before. Mana was walking around with her. "When we activate this one," Sam said "it should connect with the one back in my world... and it will make it wide enough to get them all back through it." "Okay." Mana Said. "So what should I do?" "Well, I know that's Mahad and the others had to channel their energy through the six points on the outside in order to keep the portal open enough to let me come back through it the first time." "We can do that no problem!" Mana said smiling. "Mana!" One of the other spellcasters called over to her. "We are finished!" "Great!" she said, "okay then Ms. Samantha, I'm off to my position." Mana ran over to one of the six points of the circle, and turned back to Sam and gave thumbs up. "We're ready when you are!" Sam looked around. Everyone else was ready and just waiting for her. "Ms. Samantha." The Pharaoh said from behind her. Sam turned to him. "Are you ready?" "Yes." She replied, smiling at him. The Pharaoh smiled back. "Good luck to you." Sam went and stood in the center of the circle. The spellcaster's focused their energy, and once again Sam was surrounded in a glowing circle of light.

"So what now?" Karim asked sitting down on a large rock. "How long will we have to wait?" "It shouldn't be too long." Isis said. "We are working with the idea of time travel after all." "Let's hope so." Said Auknadin, "I'm uneasy with every moment that passes where we no longer know what Bakura is doing."

"What's this?" Mahad's millennium Ring began to glow and shake. "What isn't Mahad?" Asked Shada. "That was even faster than I expected…" Mahad said "it seems that Ms. Samantha is returning already." "Well then," Seto said, activating his Millennium Rod, "I'm ready, so the rest of you better hurry up and summon your creatures." "Don't act so high and mighty." Mahad said, calling forth his Illusion magician. Seto summoned his Duos and had his creature stand on one of the six points; where he had been standing himself before. Mahad and the others did the same with their creatures. "How long do you think our creatures will be able to hold the portal open?" Karim asked. "Until the very moment we pass through." said Mahad. Light began to shine around their feet. Mahad called out to them "we will be able to see Ms. Samantha in this light somewhere. One of us needs to get a hold of her before we are too blinded to see anything, otherwise we may not all make it." The light then shined up all around them. "Gah! I can barely see anything!" Complained Seto. Isis squinted looking around. "I don't see her Mahad!" "She should be here." Mahad said, still looking. "…I think I see her!" Said Shada. He reached out to grab the hand he saw through the blinding light. Suddenly, Sam came into focus through the brightness. "Shada!" Sam said surprised. She had thought she heard their voices in the light, but hadn't been able to find them. "I found her!" Shada yelled. At that moment, all seven of them felt as if they were falling, and all the white light was lost to them.

"Wow! That light sure is bright!" Said Mana. The giant ray of light in front of them began to fade away. Removing their hands from their eyes, the magicians as well as the Pharaoh looked to the sight appearing before them. Coming into focus was all of the six priests, and Ms. Samantha lying on the ground in the center of the circle. "It really worked." The Pharaoh said to himself. When the light was gone, all six priests began to stir. Pulling their heads off the ground, they looked around. "We are back!" Said Isis happily. Seto allowed himself to collapse back on the ground. "Thank the gods!" He said relieved. "Master!" Mana ran over to Mahad and tackled him. "Thank goodness you're safe!" "H-Hello Mana." Said Mahad "you haven't been causing any trouble have you?" Auknadin and Karim stood up, slightly unsteady on their feet. "I do hope we never have to go through that again." Said Auknadin, holding his now pounding head. Karim just gave a chuckle. Shada, who had kept his hold on her hand, was trying to wake up Sam. "Mahad, why isn't Ms. Samantha waking up?" Mahad looked over. "Considering the fact that she was the key to connecting the two portals together I'm not surprised. All the energy from both sides of the portal was channeled through her while we were being transported back. She will probably be asleep for some time. It's nothing to be concerned about really, just let her rest." "Are you all alright?" They all looked. "My King!" Exclaimed Mahad. The Pharaoh walked into the circle. "You do not seem to be injured, but perhaps Simon should take a look at you?" He helped Isis to her feet. Shada, Seto and Mahad stood up. "There won't be any need," Seto said "we are all well, my King."

During the day, the priests filled the Pharaoh and Simon in on what happened to them and what they had been through. The Pharaoh listened intently, as did Simon. "Fascinating." Said the Pharaoh "what wonderful luck you had in finding Ms. Samantha. I doubt anyone else, even from Ms. Samantha's world would've helped you as much as she did." The Pharaoh was sitting in his throne, with priests before him, Simon at his side. "We can't really thank her enough. We should reward her said Simon. With all that she had to do in order to help us strangers, and how we treated her when she first arrived, I believe it's the least we can do." "Something happened when she first arrived?" Asked Seto. "We have thought she was an intruder, and aiding Bakura." Said the Pharaoh. "But it was all resolved." "About Ms. Samantha," Shada said "what is she to do now? She has helped us so much, but now that we are all here, will we be able to send her back, or will she stay?" The Pharaoh thought for a moment. "If she decided to stay here, I would be more than willing to give her a job and have her live here with us in the Palace… it is the very least that I can do." "But doesn't Ms. Samantha have a family waiting for her?" Asked Isis. "Now that we are all back home," Mahad said "it won't be any problem sending her back to her world. With everything in its rightful place, and bakura not interfering, the spell will be a lot simpler." "Will have to determine that when she awakes." said Seto. "For now, all we can do is concentrate on the matter at hand." said Simon. "Now, what are we to do about Bakura?"

**The next day.**

"Mmm." Sam felt so comfy. She was back in her room at the Palace, and covered in soft blankets. She felt the sun on her cheek. _What time is it I wonder_…? She thought, not wanting to open her eyes. 'Clunk.' Sam began to hear movement around her. She forced herself to open her eyes. "... What?" There were guards in her room. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily. "Ah!" The guards turned from what they were doing. "My apologies, did we wake you?" _Well yes, but..._ "It's all right." She said. "... What are those?" The guards were putting some small gold statues of their gods on the tables, and there were also bracelets, necklaces and earrings laid out as well. "These are gifts to you from the sacred court, my lady." One of the guards told her. Sam pulled herself from the bed and walked over to the table. "R-Really?" _These are beautiful_! "The King said he would be honored if you'd wear them." The guards then gave a bow. "Pardon us, but we shall go to announce that you have awakened."

Sam decided to change. Rummaging through her bag, she decided to put on a sleeveless white shirt and a long, light Brown skirt. _Jeans and a black T-shirt don't exactly go with these. _Sam clipped on the earrings, bracelets and the large necklace. _This is so cool!_ When she was ready, the guards waiting outside her room escorted her to the throne room.

"She is here." The Pharaoh said, looking up from his current conversation with the priests. "So you have awakened." Said Mahad, walking over to her. "How do you feel?" "I feel fine." The other priests came over as well. "I must say, Ms. Samantha that you look charming." Said Isis. "Oh, um, yes... Thank you." She replied, blushing. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Said Sam. "Not at all." Said the Pharaoh "we were actually waiting for you." As the guards left, Sam walked back with the priests to where the Pharaoh's throne was. "Me?" She asked. "What for?" "To discuss your return trip home." Said Karim.

Mahad explained what would need to be altered in the spell to return Sam to her reality. Then, the Pharaoh gave her a second the option: living in the Palace. "We would be very happy if you would stay, Ms. Samantha." Said Isis. "..." Sam didn't know how to respond to that, but she did know what her answer would end up being anyway. "... I think it's best for me to go home." She said. "Thank you, but I can't stay." Shada then said something, for the first time that day. "You have your family waiting for you." He said with a small smile. "We understand."

It was decided that Sam would be returned to her world that night. The priests were busy with their work with the Pharaoh on the issue of stopping Bakura, so Sam was allowed to roam freely on the Palace grounds. It felt a bit lonely walking around the Palace by herself, but she knew that this wasn't her place, so she didn't want to be any trouble. During that day, she gave herself a little tour of the entire Palace, and enjoyed every moment of it. She found the highest balcony in the Palace and was able to see the entire city from it. When she got lost, some nearby guards would help her on her way. Apparently, word of what she had done to help bring the priests back home had gotten around to the rest of the Palace. Occasionally, as she passed, some people would give her a light bow. After a while, she decided to go back to her room and pack her things back up. She felt strange while doing so. _So it's all over now, huh?_ She would soon be back to a more normal life at home, living with her family and friends and going to school like everyone else. Sam couldn't help but feel a little bit depressed about it, but in honesty she could not picture herself living in Egypt. More to the point was the fact that she did not know how to live there. Sam packed all of the papers Mahad had given her into her bag, along with her other clothes… and was even able to cram the priests' gifts in as well. _Man, this thing weighs three times as much as it did when I came here!_ Sam thought, struggling to put the bag on her shoulder. _I'm glad I chose a large messenger bag, or this would be impossible_. Sam, the priests and Pharaoh at all decided together that they would meet in the Palace Courtyard at night. Sam had about another hour by this point before the meeting time. Not exactly knowing what to do until then, Sam went back out onto her little balcony. That's when she realized that she had not yet gone to any of the tablet shrines on the grounds. _Am I allowed __into__ them I wonder?_ She really did want to see them, so she just took her things with her and exited her room for the last time.

The sunlight was almost completely gone by the time she reached the closest tablet sanctuary. _The Palace grounds are so huge, it's like, seven or eight football fields in each direction! _Sam realized, after lugging a very heavy bag with her the entire way. She wasn't given any grief when she asked the guards outside one of the shrines if she could go in. Walking up the steps inside the temple, she found herself surrounded by hundreds of tablets up along the walls. _Oh wow!_ Sam really was excited then… again, kicking herself for not bringing her camera with her. The inside of the tablet shrine was lit by nothing torches along the walls. It was quiet. It was a peaceful quiet that cut off all other sounds from outside. Nothing could be heard but Sam steps and the sound of the crackling flames. Reaching the top platform, Sam just stood there and looked up. The inside of the shrine went up and out of her sight. She couldn't see what was at the top, but she guessed that it was where the Egyptian God cards had their stone slabs. Sam just stood there and smiled, happy to just be where she was, remaining quiet and still for a long while.

"Ms. Samantha?" Sam heard her name from behind her. Turning, she found Shada walking up the steps to the top of the platform. "Oh, Shada. I'm sorry, I'm not intruding here, and my?" "No, not at all." He said "I'm surprised to find you here actually. I thought you would be back at your room preparing to leave." "I already did." she said, gesturing to the bag on her side. "It looks heavy," he said "here; let me hold it for you." Shada tried to take the bag off her shoulder. "This is quite heavy." He said "what is in it?" "Bricks." Sam said. "What?" Asked Shada, "Why would you have bricks in your bag?" Sam had forgotten all about the different cultures during the moment. "Sorry," she said "that's something I normally say when I'm at home. It was a joke. Sorry." "Oh." Shada said, more to himself, not quite sure he understood. After thinking a moment, he remembered "oh, it must be the gifts we gave you. I apologize if they are too heavy for you." It was quiet again for a bit. Sam just kept her gaze on the tablets inside the shrine. "This is so amazing to see." She said aloud. "Just being here, and seeing all of this for myself really makes me happy. I never would have thought something like this could happen to me." "I'm glad." Shada said. "I am glad that we met you. I don't think we could have found our way back otherwise." Sam looked back at Shada, who was looking straight at her. Sam flushed a little bit. _Why is he looking at me like that?_ Sam smiled. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help, and to meet all of you. I'm going to remember this for a long time." Shada looked away to the entrance to the tablet shrine, where the guards were motioning to him. "What is it Shada?" Asked Sam. "It looks like it's time for you to go home." Shada said. "We should go now." "Oh, all right." Sam followed Shada to the stairs, where he turned to her and held out his hand. "…It may be selfish of me, but would you let me escort you to the courtyard?" "Oh,... Sure." She took his hand. They Walked down the steps, and were met by two guards who bowed to them as Sam and Shada passed. Upon exiting the tablet shrine, Sam glanced at Shada and realized that he seemed a bit down. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked. Shada just glanced the other way, with a light blush on his face. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine." "You don't look too well," she said "do you have a fever?" "A what?" Shada didn't know the term. "Do you feel sick?" She rephrased it. "Sam took her other hand and placed it on his forehead. "... No I... I feel fine." "Alright." Sam said. "I just wanted to be sure." She removed her hand from his head. "What was it you were doing?" He asked "I was checking your temperature." She said. She thought about how to explain it. "The human body has a certain warmth to it when you touch the forehead. When someone is getting sick, what WE call a fever, their forehead feels warmer than it normally would." "That's a very important thing to know." Shada said "I shall need to remember it."

Sam talked to Shada about basic ways to check people's health, such as heartbeats and body temperature. He seemed to be very interested in her simple health tips. When they were about to enter the opening in the courtyard where the rest of the priests were waiting, Shada let go of her hand. "Thank you." he said quietly, giving her a sweet smile. "There you are!" Called Mahad "we have been waiting for you. Are you ready Ms. Samantha?" Shada sighed, and went back over to where the rest of the priests were. "Yes," she said "I suppose I am."

Sam once again found herself standing in the center of a transmutation circle. Along the edge of the outside circle, stood the priests, Mahad students and the Pharaoh. With her messenger bag strapped over her shoulder, Sam was ready. "Thank you for everything." Said Isis. "I do hope you will continue to practice what I taught you." Mahad said. "It would be a waste if you didn't." "Oh I will." Sam said smiling "you don't need to worry about that." "Best of luck to you." Karim said. Seto and Auknadin didn't say anything, but nodded a silent farewell. Shada didn't say anything. He had already had the chance to thank her and had done so. He just looked on. When it seemed everyone had said their goodbyes, the Pharaoh gave the order. "Activate the spell!" The familiar light birsted up around Sam, and the last sight she had of the priests was of them bowing in gratitude one last time.

Sam woke up on the soft grass. Looking around, it was still daylight. _Noon,_ Sam thought, judging by where the sun was. There was a light breeze, and Sam could hear birds. _It's over. _She thought. _Now I guess … I go home_.

For the rest of Sam's day, she worked on 'clean up'. She packed up her things from the cabin she had rented, and drove to the hotel where the priests had stayed. After settling with the front desk that check would be tomorrow, she went up to the rooms where she would pack up their things. All the spare clothes and snacks they had bought were there. It only took Sam two trips to get everything into the van. When she was done, she just went and swam in the pool the hotel provided. Sam was having trouble getting back into the swing of things. _I need a __reality__ check,_ she thought. After an hour swim, she went back to her room and called up her parents. "Hi mom. How was the wedding?... hm? Oh, really? Wow. ….yes, I'll be coming back soon."

The drive home was long. Sam felt lonely; it was a three day drive after all. Over those days, Sam thought about what life was going to be like. She was going into college this next year, and the first Semester was starting soon. _… Maybe I should try philosophy…_ Sam couldn't help but laugh at herself. Finding a new reality had changed the way she looked at things, and it all seemed a bit like philosophy to her. Pushing it out of her head, Sam decided not to worry about it until she got home. "I need some music." Sam grabbed the CD binder that had been put in the glove compartment, and tossed in a random CD.

_"My story is much too sad to be told. But practically everything, leaves me totally cold… the only exception I know is the case… when I'm out on a quiet spree, fighting vainly, the olden way… and I suddenly turn, and see… YOUR FABULOUS FACE!... I get no Kick from shampaine… Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all…_

Sam smiled. It was the song that the priests had heard, and brought them to her.

_… So tell me, why should it be true…_

Sam sang along happily.

**"…that I get a Kick out of you!…"**

The days went by like normal when Sam got home. Or at least, as normal as they could get: Everyone was excited that she had won the lottery. After a week, what had happened to Sam seemed like a dream. But it hadn't been, and she had the pictures on her laptop and the gifts they gave her to prove it. Sam kept what happened to herself, it was her personal treasure.

Katie came buy one day to make up for her broken promise; the YuGiOh marathon Sam had planned all those weeks ago. They dueled and traded some cards. At about 11pm, Katie decided that it was time for some anime. "How about we watch the 'Dawn of the Duel' season?" she suggested, popping in the DVD. "…Sure, why not." Sam was, in all honesty, wanting to see them all again. _I wonder if it'll feel different now that I've met them…_she thought. For the first few episodes, Sam couldn't help grinning. She and Katie scarfed some popcorn while watching Bakura escape from the palace with the guards chasing after him. It was like nothing had happened.

Until the screen went black.

"Oh No!" whined Katie, "The disk must be damaged!" Getting up, she ejected the disk, blew on it, and put it back in. "maybe it will still work if we skip that episode." Katie said hopefully. Sam sat there while her friend fidgeted with the DVD player. The next episodes intro worked fine, but then the screen went black again. It did it with the next episode, and the one after that. "That's weird," said Katie, "it was just fine the other day when I watched it." Katie looked at the clock. "OMYGAWD! It's 4am!" she put the disk away. "Sorry Sam, but we will have to look at it tomorrow." The girls slid into their sleeping bags and turned out the lights. "Oh man, I have an interview tomorrow at 1!" Katie said to herself. "Goodnight Sam!" "… Night." But Sam couldn't sleep. Something felt wrong. _Something happened._ She thought. _Something's changed. I KNOW that the disk is perfectly fine… What can I do?_ Sam closed her eyes. _… I want to... I want to see for myself. _"Katie." "Hmm?" Sam's friend was half asleep already. "I'm going to need to borrow your brother's book again."


	17. Chapter 17 'Return'

11 months forward

"Pull!" Cutting across the sky, is a Frisbee. Then, another followed by another and another. Down below on the ground, stands a girl with red hair and fading blond highlights. She takes a deep breath, and takes fighting stance; making her hands flat and sharp. She swings one hand around the side of her, up in a motion towards one of the discs. Following her instruction, a pale light in the shape of a curved blade leaves her hand and flies through the air, cutting the disc. She continues this, going faster and faster, managing to hit them all before they touched the ground. When the discs stopped showing up, she called out "is that all of them?" "Yep that's it." Coming out from her safe spot behind some trees, was Katie. "Can that be enough for today, I think I pulled a muscle throwing all of those." "I'm tired too." Replied Sam "We should probably go get something to eat." They were alone in a small forest park about a mile from Sam's home. It was a good thing no one else ever went there anymore, because it gave Sam a place to practice. It was secluded and quiet. "Where do you want to go to eat?" Sam asked as they approached Sam's van. "How about that café a few blocks down?" Katie said, getting in the passenger seat.

"So how are your parents anyway?" She asked, the waitress brought their drinks. "Same as before," Sam said, picking up her water glass. "But they'll get over it eventually. I mean, it's not like I failed any of my classes or anything." "Well yeah," Katie said grabbing a roll from the basket. "But see, your grades are usually all A's and B's. I think they are that upset that what you graduated with was all C's instead." "I don't see what the problem was, I graduated didn't I? Besides, this is important to me. I want to make sure I didn't mess anything up, and if I did, I need to make things normal again." Sam was referring to the world the six priests returned to. Apparently, it wasn't just Katie's DVDs that had changed, it was all of them. Sam had found complaints online about how something had happened to other people's Yu-Gi-Oh DVDs. Katie took a bite of her bread roll. "I wish I had believed you back then." She said, "I would've killed to have met Seto." "I'm kind of glad you didn't." Sam said smirking. "I wouldn't want him to go through what that poor Kaiba cosplayer had to at the convention last year. "Oh ha ha. Would you let that go?" Katie said, making a pouty face. As the waitress returned with their food, Sam and Katie stayed silent until she was out of earshot. "So, Katie said picking up her fork, "is that it for training, or you still want more?" "I think I'm good enough." Sam said. "Great," Katie took a bite "so when do we start off?" "I'm going to get the plane tickets tonight," Sam said, "we will probably go the day after tomorrow." "I'll start packing then." "I really do appreciate you covering for me Katie." Sam said a little quieter. "No problem, my life would be boring without you."

Sam had a plan. She decided she would go back to the priests' reality. She had researched and looked over Mahad's papers countless times. She wanted to make sure when she set up the ritual by herself, it would work properly. That being said, she had to keep it exactly the same as they had. And so, she and Katie would fly out to California, to the place where they had set up the ritual before. Katie was coming with to help set everything up, and help cover for Sam, saying that they were going to go out on a little trip together before they went to separate colleges. That night, Sam booked the plane tickets and packed her bag. She didn't pack much, just enough to fit in her carry-on: one spare set of clothes, some makeup, some ibuprofen, a first aid kit, Mahad's notes and her cards.

She and Katie took a late-night flight the day after, so that they would arrive in the early morning in California. Sam rented a car and once again headed to the Sequoia national Park. The cabin Sam had used before was already taken, but the hotel still had rooms, so that is where they decide to stay. After setting up their hotel room, Sam wanted to go out immediately. "Are you sure you don't want to rest a bit more?" Katie asked. "No, I want to go now. The sooner the better." Katie sighed, "Alright, when this is all over, we're having a real vacation." Sam smirked "deal."

It took a bit of walking, but they found the clearing in the forest where the ritual was done before. Everything was like how they left it almost a year before. With Katie's help, Sam Redrew the circle over the previous fading one carved into the ground. "How are you going to activate it?" Katie asked "it took all six of them to do it before right? Won't you need help?" "Oh don't worry about that," Sam said pulling her deck out of her pocket. "I have that covered."

"Get some more water over here!" Seto yelled at a servant. It was nighttime in Egypt, and priest Auknadin was injured. Although he's millennium eye was still in tact, it was pulled out half way, and the tissue around it was torn and bleeding. One of the Palace healers was doing their best to mend his wound. As another servant came back with more water and bandages, a guard came up to Seto. "Sir we have yet to locate the Pharaoh. We searched the area where he was last seen but we fear he may be-" "don't you dare say such things!" Spat Seto, "keep looking!" "Yes sir." The guard ran off to continue his duties. "Seto." Shada came into the room. "It won't do us any good for you to lose your temper. Lord Auknadin will be fine, he has had much worse injuries in his lifetime." Despite the fact that Shada was talking to him, Seto pretended not to hear. He didn't even turn around. "I'm going to join the guards in the search for our King. Isis has already joined them." Seto still remained silent. Shada sighed. "Seto, Lord Auknadin would not want you to be just standing here in worrying about his safety. Would you please-" "I have every right to worry about his safety!" Seto shot back. "First we lost Mahad to Bakura, and now master Akhenaden is... He's picking us off one at a time! We won't be able to fend him off if we lose anyone else! You know that! Quit wasting both our time with your words of wisdom and go find the Pharaoh!"

_I never thought I'd be happy to see this much sand._ Sam thought. She found herself on the outskirts of the city, just as the sun was starting to come up_. I hope I came back to the right point in time. _In front of her, Sam saw guards hustling around trying to help some injured civilians, while the remaining smoke from the battle the night before kept rising into the air. Sam was wearing skinny jeans and a sleeveless white T-shirt, along with some of the Egyptian jewelry she was given before as a gift. Looking as she did caused quite a few stairs as she entered a street market. Despite the fact that half of the city was destroyed, the street market was still going... Mostly because people needed what was being sold now more than before. Clothes and supplies were being traded and sold to injured civilians. _I need to fit in ASAP_. Pulling one of the bracelets from her wrist, she held it out to a merchant and asked, "Would you happen to have a cloak that I could trade for this?"

Now covered in a longer, cooler, tan colored cloak, Sam felt less stares looking her way. _I wonder what's happened since I was here._ She thought, As she wandered the city. Pulling her hood up, she went into a bar to see what she could find out. Right inside the door was a few Palace guards. She almost ran into them, but backed back out the doorway before they noticed her. She had no idea if she would be recognized or not, but she didn't want to interfere anymore than was necessary. She needed to know every detail before she took action, otherwise she might regret it. All but one of the guards was ready to leave. That one guard was chugging the last of his drink. Sam listened from the outside of the doorframe. "You lot are drinking as if you'll never see water again." Said the bartender. "We're going to back up the current guards on their search for the Pharaoh. We have yet to find him and we don't know how long we're going to be out in the desert." The last guard tossed his pay to the bartender and the guards rushed out the door and left on their horses. Sam watched them gallop away. _So it has only been about one or two days since they last saw me._ She thought._ If the sun is just coming up and the Pharaoh is already missing, that means last night was the battle between Slifer and Diabound. And that means... _It meant that Sam knew where the Pharaoh was. Returning down the street she came, Sam headed towards the Nile River.

"Pharaoh! Pharaoh!" Shada, Isis and the guards called out as loudly as they could. One of the search parties returned to them empty-handed. ""I don't understand." Shada said, "We've searched the area countless times. This is where he was. Where could he have gone?" Isis had in idea. "Spiria!" She called out her Ka. "The winged fairy appeared and took to the skies. "I will take a group of men with me and follow after my creature. Hopefully from the skies we should be able to find him." All right," Shada said. "I will take the rest of the men to another area. Perhaps he found his way out east from here." "Lord Shada, Ms. Isis!" Mana came running up from over a hill. By the time she reached them, she was out of breath. "I... Want to help." She said gasping. "All right," said Isis "come with me." Following Isis is orders, they gallop the way. Shada reached into his pocket. Inside, his hand rested on the cell phone that Ms. Samantha had given him. He had held onto it for some reason unknown even to him. A part of him wished Ms. Samantha had told all that she knew of their time. Perhaps that could have protected master Akhenaden and the Pharaoh. He had tried to ask her about it right before she left, but hadn't been sure if it was good to learn of the future, and decided against it. _Wasn't that the right thing to do?_ "All right," he called to the remaining guards, "we need to head east."

Along the northeast bank of the River Nile, Sam began a search of her own. _According to the books, he ends up around here somewhere. _Sam followed the river current, walking alongside the edge. After a half hour, she had passed a couple of fishermen, but found no one else. _Where could he be? I could have sworn he would be here- _and that's when she spotted a violet cape floating in the river. Sam's heart skipped a beat as she jumped into the water and waded across. In the Pharaoh's world of memories, there had been nothing attached to the Cape as it floated down the river. However, this wasn't the world of the Pharaoh's memories. To Sam's surprise, the Pharaoh was indeed attached to that cape. Wrapping her arms under his shoulders, Sam pulled the unconscious Pharaoh to shore.

Sam laid him flat on his back and felt for a pulse. It was very faint, if it was even there at all, because Sam couldn't tell. She held her hand up over the Pharaoh's mouth and nose: he wasn't breathing. Putting her two hands together over his chest, she began CPR. After a minute of trying to start his heart and putting air in his lungs, he hacked up the water he had swallowed, and gasped for air. Sam felt relief flow over her. _Phew._ Carrying the unconscious King, she brought him to the cave nearby. _So much for not interfering… well, it's not like I could leave him floating in the river._ Sam decided to forget her previous plan of staying out of it until she knew what had changed. When she set him down again in a more sheltered area, Sam removed his soaking wet cape setting it aside so it wasn't in the way. Taking out her first aid kit, she began disinfecting his wounds. He had huge bruises and cuts, and she had a feeling he had at least cracked one of his ribs. The Pharaoh cringed when the disinfectant stung; he was slowly coming out of his unconscious state. Sam set down the disinfectant and pulled out some gauze tape. Carefully lifting his arm, she began wrapping it where it was injured. The Pharaoh's Eyes opened slightly, and glanced at her. "Hello again." Sam said. He just stared at her Blakely, not fully awake or able to understand. Carefully laying down his bandaged arm, she leaned closer to bandaged up his chest. "What… are you…" "You were hurt pretty bad." Sam said, "I'm just trying to make sure your wounds don't get worse." The Pharaoh reached for something: something that should have been around his neck but wasn't. Upon this realization, the Pharaoh jerked himself upright. "Hey! Don't move so quickly will you?" Sam grabbed his shoulders before he could try to get up. "You're going to put yourself even more pain if you try to move so quickly." He glanced down to the empty area on his chest, where the millennium puzzle should have been. The Pharaoh let out a grunt of frustration. "Look, he may have taking your puzzle, but your alive, right? You still have a chance to get it back." Sam Then finished wrapping his chest and pulled his shirt back down over the bandages. The Pharaoh looked at her. "Who are you?" "What? You don't but recognize me?" _Oh, wait. Duh_. Sam's hood was still over her head, making it hard to see her face in a dark cave. She quickly flipped it off. "…. Ms. Samantha?" The Pharaoh said in disbelief. His surprise made Sam smile. "Please just sit here and rest." She said standing up. "The priests are looking for you, I'm going to try to signal to them."

Putting her hood back on to block the blinding light, Sam climbed up to the highest point she could find and scanned the skies for Isis's creature. Instead, she spotted allot of soldiers farther off on horses. She then saw Spiria dive down from some clouds to the group. _That must be them over there._ Sam reached into her bag and took out her Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Flipping through her deck, she pulled out 'Stealth Bird'. "Awaken". She whispered to herself, holding out the card. Responding to her commands, a large silver/blue bird appeared, about the size of a human being. "Go", she told it. "Bring those people over here." With that the bird took off, and Sam went back to the cave to check up on the Pharaoh."

"Still no sign of the Pharaoh?" Shada asked Spiria. The creature shook its head no. _Where could he be?_ "Well, keep looking. It's all we can do." As Spiria began to take off again, she stopped and looked up above. Shada noticed and looked too. Stealth bird came straight down from above, nearly missing Spirias wings. The soldiers held onto their spears, as the large bird circled them. "That's not a normal bird. Shada said, "Someone must have summoned it." Stealth bird flew in one direction, stopped, and came back and circled them again. _It's trying to lead us somewhere... did the Pharaoh summoned this?_ The bird took off again. "Everyone follow it" Shada said, "it may take us to the Pharaoh!"

Now outside the cave, Sam was helping the Pharaoh walk in the direction of the men she had spotted. The Pharaoh was a bit dizzy, so Sam had him leaning his arm around the back of her neck. "You Look different." the Pharaoh said. "Yes well," she said "it has been a while for me since I was here. Although, I'm sure it has only been a few days for you." Sam spotted the group approaching. "Good, they found us." Stealth bird flew up to Sam, transformed into a beam of light and returned to her deck. "Pharaoh!" Shada yelled from atop his horse as they approached.

"You look well." Shada said, dismounting to his horse. "We are relieved to find you in good health." He and the Royal guards bowed to the Pharaoh. "Yes, well, you can thank her for that." He motioned to Sam. "She tended to my injuries." "Thank you," Shada said, giving a little bow to Sam. "I am pleased that we have such loyal citizens." "Umm…" Sam pushed the hood off again. "Hi."

"Ms. Samantha? What are…how are you here?" "Well... I … decided to come back." Sam said, not knowing exactly how to explain. "Well yes," Shada said "but how did you get back?" "It took me a year of practice, but I was able to use what Mahad taught me to reopen the portal." Sam said, proud of herself. "I'm able to do all kinds of things now. So I wanted to come back and make things right." ""Make things right?" What do you mean?" The Pharaoh asked. "When I got home I had this uneasy feeling, like I had overlooked something important. And then a bit later, I realized that something had been changed." "Do you mean that the story of our history changed?" Shada asked. "No," Sam said, "your story was completely erased. It was gone altogether."

All remained silent for a moment. "So then… this means we shall fail?" Shada said, in a bit of shock. "I'm not going to let that happen." Sam said sternly. "Whatever it does mean, and whatever has changed… I won't let it stop you from defeating Bakura. That's why I'm here." Sam turned to the Pharaoh, who was in deep thought. "Your highness, will you please let me accompany you all to Kul Elna? I assume that's where Bakura is now, right?" she turned to Shada, who nodded. "That is where his trail lead us." "Very well." Said the Pharaoh " To Kul Elna."


	18. Chapter 18 'Partners'

"I believe it's just ahead your highness." Shada said. They were all approaching the abandoned city of Kul Elna. The Pharaoh and Shada were leading the pack, while Sam rode with one of the guards. They kicked up sand as they rode through the Egyptian desert.

Dismounting their horses, the Pharaoh, Shada, Mana and Sam took a good look around. "This place kind of creepy." Mana said, holding her arms tight to her. "I am told," Shada began "that this was once full of nothing but criminals with evil spirits… but one day they all just vanished off the face of the earth." Mana stayed close to the Pharaoh. "Pharaoh, are you sure it's safe for us to be here? I mean, if the people here vanished, doesn't that mean that something do the same to us? "If you're frightened Mana," Shada said "you can return to the city. You are a student after all." "No." Mana said "Bakura is the one who killed Master Mahad right? I'm not going anywhere." "And what of Isis?" The Pharaoh said "She has gone back to the Palace to be able to lead the other priests to our location." Shada replied. "Very well. Guards, split up and start search the city." "Yes sir." "Be on your guard men, Bakura could be anywhere." "According to what I remember," Sam spoke up, "Bakura stays in an underground sanctuary below the city. I don't think he's anywhere above ground." "All right. Then we are looking for any entrance to the temple below ground. The pharaogh relaid the information to his men.

Several miles off, Isis led the remaining priests towards Kul Elna. Each of them road one of the Palace stallions, and behind them was the remainder of the guards. "Is it true that Ms. Samantha returned?" Seto called up to Isis. "She has, but I don't see how she could have been able to figure out, considering the fact that Mahad only had a chance to teacher a few spells." "Well, however she got here," Karim joined in "I have to admit that I feel a bit more at ease knowing that she is back with us. Who knows what would have happened to the Pharaoh if she did not find him first." The rest of them agreed aloud, but Auknadin was, in reality, not happy about the Pharaoh's safety at all. Because she had returned, Auknadin did not know what to expect, and this unease he felt because of it didn't help him find the confidence he needed for his betrayal. Now that Ms. Samantha was back, he took it as a sign that she knew something was going to go wrong. _Could that mean that she knew about my true intentions after all? Had she known the entire time? She had not said anything of it before._ Auknadin was unconsciously grimacing at his own thoughts. "Master Auknadin," Isis said as she looked back at him "It does not bode well to be upset about the situation. We must stay focused and logical, if we are to help our King." "…Yes."

"I think I have found something!" Came a yell across the city of Kul Elna. it had been one of the guards. The remainder of the Royal guard, along with the Pharaoh, Mana and Shada follow the voice to where they found one guard standing over a flat stone slab laying flat on the ground of what seemed to have been the town square. The slab was slightly ajar and off of its place; Shada could tell that there was a big empty space below it. Together, Shada and the guards were able to remove the flat stone slab, which revealed a broken staircase below it. "I guess this is the place." The Pharaoh said taking a look down into the darkness. "please allow us to make sure it is safe for you your highness." A few the guards stepped up, lit some torches and stepped down into the darkened stairway. Shada I looked up and around. "Has anyone seen Ms. Samantha? it appears she did not return from her search." "I'll go look for her." Mana said.

The view in front of her told Sam that she shouldn't have gone in that direction. There is no way she could have known, but still she knew she had taken a very wrong turn when she came upon what was of in front of her. She had known that the millennium items were created using the souls of the 1000's or more thieves in this town. But she had not known, however, was what became of their bodies afterwards. She was standing at what was more or less the grave of all of the thieves. It couldn't be considered a 'graveyard' because there was no flattened ground with headstones sticking out from it. But there was a mass of skeletons just tossed aside and put into smaller piles. That specific part of the town seemed to be a bit quieter than the rest, with a gentle breeze tossing the sand onto the bones. The amount of time that had passed showed. the sand had been blown so hard against the remains that it made them all have a slight smooth looking shine, that reflected off of the Egyptian sun. It would have been just a mystifying sight to see, if not for the fact that all of the skulls seemed to have their eye sockets pointed in her direction. A couple would be coincidence, but over 1000 of them was definitely not. Sam heard the call of one of the other guards carried on the wind above. It appeared that they had found something. But Sam didn't move, she didn't dare. A dark cold feeling was washing over her. The ghosts had just woken up.

"Ms. Samantha!" Mana was calling. "Ms. Samantha!" She yelled again as she turned the corner. "Oh, very you are-" she saw what was around Sam. Some sort of fog like material was losing from the bones. It stretched up in the air from each skull, until it was the length of a human. "Uh oh…" Mana said quietly as she came over to Sam. "I think we better run for it" she said to Sam, grabbing hold of her arm. While Sam had stayed still, nothing had happened. But then Mana had come up. Staying still like a rabbit was no longer an option. So they did what Mana suggested. They ran like hell.

Chased by the animated skeletons, oozing ectoplasm, or whatever they were, Sam and Mana darted back and forth around the mazelike layout of Kul Elna. Turning one more corner, Sam and Mana came into view of the Pharaoh, Shada and his guards. "Ah. The there they are-" Shada cut himself off when he saw what was behind them. "-Jackal warrior!" The beast appeared almost instantly, and dived between the two women and the evil spirits. With jackal warrior holding back, the two reached Shada and the Pharaoh. "Are you to all right?" The Pharaoh said hurrying over to them. "Yeah." Mana said panting. Sam just nodded. The Pharaoh's guards were taking a V formation in front of them: between their King and the attacking the evil.

A couple screams came from the depths of the stairway at their feet. The Guards that had entered were calling out in pain. The Pharaoh went back over to the hole, and called out for them. Then there was silence coming from the tunnel. The Pharaoh gritted his teeth. "I've got to get down there." He said. Shada whirled his head around. "No my King! It is far too dangerous. We must wait for others to arrive!" But the Pharaoh was already walking down stairway. From his path leading below, the Pharaoh yelled to his men, "keep those evil souls back for as long as you can men!"

Sam remembered something, and felt stupid. She had come here to help them, yet the moment danger came for her, she just ran away instead of fighting it like she had planned. Her old, innocent instincts from her own reality were still holding tight to her. She was here to be helpful, and that's what she would do.

"Shada." She said to him "go with him! With the guards, Mana and I we will be able to do more than just hold them back. Right Mana?" She said turning to the young apprentice next to her. "Yeah! You can count on us!" She pulled out her wand. "Mahad didn't make me his top student for nothing!" Sam could tell that Mana had just realized she ran out of instinct too. Now they were both ready to give a hell it of a fight. Shada looked from them back to where the Pharaoh had been, and was now completely immersed in the darkness of the corridor heading below. "Hurry up and go with him!" Sam yelled. Shada I didn't say a word, but sprinted down into the darkness after is King. So did Jackal warrior; Leaving Sam and Mana on the front line. The two of them, two students of the world's strongest magician were up to bat. "Come on, Mana" Sam said with a half smile. "Let's teach them not to mess with the students of master Mahad."

What a pairt they were. If Sam ever needed to pair up in battle with anyone after this, she knew she would choose the Mana. They just worked well together. With Mama shooting magical blasts and Sam whipping out lashes of magical energy, they were a force to be reckoned with. The guards were taking good swings at the skeletons too: Cutting the bodies in half and swatting the skulls off. Some of the spirits however, were a bit harder to take down. Some of the spirits had a more physical form, that looked more along the lines of REALLY old zombies more than skeletons. _does that mean that they are stronger?_ It did. Those ghosts were actually able to heal themselves a bit from the wounds, or at least enough to keep attacking. "Oh come on!" Sam heard Mana wined a bit. Mana was get frustrated with one of them in particular that just wouldn't stay down. Sam grabbed her deck from her pocket._ Plan B then… _she drew a random card from her deck. _Chaos sorcerer? Sweet. _"Chaos sorcerer!" That creature appeared exactly as it had in its picture. The spellcaster type monster had a very pale, light blue skin and was wrapped in belts, and an outfit of silver points and black leather. With such an awesome creature at Sam's side, she felt way more confident. "All right, Chaos sorcerer! Take them down! Attack!" Chaos sorcerer's hands began to glow with a fire type of light. One hand surrounded in lights and one in pitch-black flames. The magician slammed his hands together in front of him, creating a large blast towards the evil souls. He used it to lunge himself into the crowd of skeletons in zombie like creatures, fully ready for battle. "That's so awesome!" Mana exclaimed, seeing the monster I had summoned. "I'll summon mine to!" It took a while to concentrate enough, but finally in the midst of the battle, she conjured up her creature. Sam looked up happily at the creature that had now taking on a form she recognized. "I haven't had my Ka for long," Mana said "so I don't know how strong she is yet. But I'm sure she can help." "I'm sure to." Sam said looking up at the creature. She felt a bit more confident they could win, now that the Dark Magician Girl had joined the fight. They fought together, and their creatures fought together. It wasn't long before the evil spirits were falling like dominoes.


	19. Chapter 19 'Gathering'

The ground begins to shake. Having just defeated the skeleton creatures, Mana and Sam looked around for the source. Some of the guards were on uneven ground and tripping. "Is there some huge monster coming?" Sam thought aloud. Suddenly, pillars of light blasted up from the ground below them. The shaking stops. "What was that?" Mana stammered, from where she had fallen during the shake. Sam, Mana and the guards quietly crept over to the closest whole in the ground where one of the light pillars had been. Below them was darkness. After their eyes adjusted, they could see figures below, and the sound of laughter was echoing about. "You cannot catch my Diabound by blindly shooting, you fool!" Sam recognized that voice. _Bakura._ _So those blasts must have been-_"and what makes you think that was my plan?" came a deeper voice, one that Mana recognized as well. "The Pharaoh!" Sam stood up. "They're going to need some help down there. I'm going to see if I can sneak in, think you can cover them from up here by yourself?" "No problem." Mana said in her normal, chipper fashion. "Okay." Sam ran over to the stairway that led below. _Not quite sure what I'm going to do,_ she thought_, but if I can surprise bakura, at least I can catch him off guard and make an opening for attack._ Taking out a flashlight she had in her bag, Sam descended down into the darkness.

"What the-?" Seto ducked, as a ghost took a dive at him on his horse. They were just entering the city, and were not exactly getting a warm welcome. The ghost flew back around for a second go at the priest. "Grh." Seto activated his Millennium Rod. "Duos!" The blue creature appeared and dived in front of the ghost, swatting it away with its sword. More ghosts started appearing. "What are these things?" Karim yelled, summoning his creature as well. All but Auknadin summoned a creature. Seto noticed. "What's wrong Master Auknadin?" He yelled over his shoulder while fighting off the ghosts. "… I don't appear to have enough Ba to summon anything." He lied. "High priests!" Came a yell. The priests see some guards waving their arms to get the four of theirs attention. Beating back the ghosts, they charge their horses over to the guards. "Where is his Highness?" Isis asks, "He went below with Master Shada, and is fighting bakura!" "We must help him-" but Karim was cut off by a sweeping attack of ghosts. He used his creature to push back the attack. As fast as they wanted to get down there, they had to defeat the enemy in front of them first. "Master Auknadin!" Seto yelled, over his shoulder "please wait here with the guards. We shall finish off these ghosts." "Very well." Auknadin got off his horse, handing the reins to a guard who could use it. "Be careful Seto." As they all charged off to destroy the ghosts, Auknadin turned and headed for the stairs. "High priest," said a guard, "are you sure you're going below? It's much too dark. Here, please, take this torch. It's too-" "I will be fine without one." It was true; he was much accustomed to the darkness now, and didn't have any trouble adjusting his sight, as he entered without another word.

The layout of the underground temple hadn't been in any of the Manga, or the Anime. All Sam knew was that it covered the entire underground of Kul Elna. Sam had thought that if she just followed the sounds she heard, it would lead to bakura and the Pharaoh. But sounds kept echoing, and Sam wasn't sure where she was. "Damn it." She cursed to herself _little good I am._ Sam kept coming to dead ends, so she doubled back. When she found a room she hadn't passed before, she entered_. Well, it's not what I wanted, but it's a start._ Sam had fallen upon Bakura's spoils; a room filled with things he had stolen from temples, graves, and other regular people. The light of Sam's flashlight reflected softly off of the gold and silver that covered the room. _Not a bad haul._ Sam admitted. Suddenly, she heard a noise from outside the room. The echo of footsteps rang in her ear. Sam quickly flipped off her flashlight and ducked behind a gold-plated sarcophagus. She wasn't going to risk Bakura catching her this soon.

"Where is Master Auknadin?" Seto asked the guards. He, Isis and Karim had run off the spirits and were dismounting their horses. "He has already gone below, sir." One guard replied. "He should have waited for us." Karim said "if he can't summon anything to protect himself, there's no telling what could happen to him down there!" "Lord Auknadin is one of the first seven priests." Isis said, trying to comfort them. "Surely he has a power from that experience. We have never seen his full power, remember. I'm sure he is with the Pharaoh and Shada." "Well then, we better joined them." Seto said, as he led Karim and Isis quickly down into the dark staircase.

"I know you're here. My millennium Eye can sense you." Auknadin stood in the doorway to Bakura's treasure room. "Come out, Ms. Samantha. We have something to discuss, you and I." His voice sent a chill down Sam's spine. It was the same voice he had before, but the way he spoke was very different. Auknadin wasn't on their side any longer. With no other options in front of her, Sam stood up and revealed herself to Auknadin. "Very good." He said, his voice just as dark as the room. "It is time for you to tell me everything."

___…Damn it._


	20. Chapter 20 'Unspoken Rule'

"You knew from the very beginning, didn't you Ms. Samantha?" Auknadin had the stance that reminded Sam of a panther ready to pounce. He wasn't blinking, his eyes sternly fixed on her. "... What?" The space between them was empty, but the air was as cold and thick as ice. "Why didn't you tell them about the darkness within me?" Auknadin rephrased this question. "You must have known from the very beginning, your actions to this point showed that you always knew more than you were telling." Auknadin took one step forward, and Sam took one step back. "... I didn't know what to make of the situation..." "You know you are not to meddle with our reality," Auknadin took another step forward and Sam retreated just as much. "And yet you returned." Auknadin made a face that Sam could not tell if he was smirking or snarling. "So you know how it ends then… our little story?" Auknadin advanced forward again. Sam nearly tripped over the ceremonial treasures lying on the floor, as she backed up again. But she kept her gaze. "I know how it's supposed to end." The wall was right behind her, and she no longer had room to retreat. "And how is it supposed to end, Ms. Samantha?" "... You're a smart man, Auknadin. You know exactly how." Auknadin scoffed at the flipped answer she had given him. "I know how it will end... My son, Seto... As King of the New World…" "And if that's not what he wants?" Auknadins face twisted up into an obvious snarl. "I know what's best for my son! You may know us from history, Ms. Samantha you know nothing of us as the people we are!" Auknadin took a lunge at Sam. Sam had seen it coming, his posture had shown in him that the darkness gave him a new the found savage characteristic. As Auknadin went to grab her, Sam kicked up a ceremonial spear by her feet into her hands, swinging it at him with as much force as she could. Auknadin stumbled backward to dodge it. With the spear tightly between her two hands, she points the dagger and towards Auknadin. "This is the first time you have seen me since I left Auknadin, I am not as timid as I was before. It may have been only a day or so for you, but I haven't seen you in almost a year. Don't take me lightly." As Auknadin stood there, his gaze looked from the point of the spear to Sam's face. A chill flew up Sam's spine as she saw a cold grin washed across his face. "On the contrary... I'm not taking you lightly at all..." "Wh-?" "It took the six of us just to hold that portal open so that you could be transported here the first time." Auknadin said in a lowered tone of voice. "Now, you have returned, and completely on your own. You found a way to hold that portal open all by yourself. I am interested to know how, because that takes planning and skill Ms. Samantha... Just by knowing you returned, I knew what to expect of you."

She had not realized what was there. She had not seen him summon anything. And yet, his creature came out from the shadows that were bouncing on the wall behind her. Dark velvet arms reached out quickly and wrapped around her for arms, gold claws digging into her tightly. Sam looked up to the creature. Its face was distorted and twisted, with neither eyes matching in any logical color or size. Sam recognized the creature as Hannibal Necromancer, and it was a reflection of Auknadin's soul. "Regrettably," Auknadin said as he took a confident step forward once more. "I actually learned a trick or two from that thief Bakura. You should not have returned Ms. Samantha. In all truth, I found you to be a charming young girl with a promising future… it is but a shame you had to meddle with our past." Sam could feel Necromancer's clause slowly sinking deeper into her arms; it was unbelievably painful. With her mind racing, Sam shoots a small blade of energy from her finger at Auknadin. He moves to dodge, but it hits him on the side of his face, also ripping off his hood as he falls backward onto the floor. Sam had done her research: if the host of the monster was injured, that would weaken the monster temporarily as they tried to recover. It worked too, because Necromancer's grip loosened enough for Sam to pull herself away. She ducked down under the creature and decided to summon one of her own. Grabbing from the deck that was strapped to her waist, she summons Breaker the Magical Warrior. Necromancer goes at Sam, but her monster intervenes, blocking its claws with his sword. While Breaker the Magical Warrior is fighting to block Hannibal Necromancer, Sam takes a run for the doorway but Auknadin grabs her ankle from his spot on the floor. As Sam turns to look at him, she sees where one of her energy blades had hit. There was a long deep cut on his fore head just above the millennium eye, and blood was dripping over it. It only took a moment for Auknadin to pull her feet out from under her and have her land on the floor next to him. Auknadin reaches for a knife lying in a pile of treasures off to the side, but Sam was not going to let him get it. She swung at him with the spear, making him have to toss himself backward on the floor. Out of desperation, Sam pulls out another card from her deck. The creature takes form: Double Coston, conjoined black blobs of ooze with devilish grins. "What! Two monsters?-" Double Coston sprang onto Auknadin, trying to hold him down by wrapping itself around him. Sam leaps to her feet and runs for it. Sprinting through the threshold of the doorway, she shoots slashes of energy above it and makes it cave-in. Rubble fills the doorway, blocking the only exit. Sam calls for the monsters through the rubble covered doorway, and they returned to her through the rocks in gold beams of light that hit her cards and she returns them to her deck. _That is not going to hold him long._ She thought, so Sam runs off not caring in what direction she's going. She has no time to think, so she just follows her very first instinct.

"This way" said Karim. He, Seto and Isis made their way through the maze deep in the underground. Their millennium items were leading the way to the Pharaoh. Seto had decided to stay quiet for most of the trek through the maze, but decided then to voice his concerns. "What are we to do when we find them? We had trouble with Bakura before, he is much more powerful now." The others did not know how to answer. Karim stopped suddenly. "Listen." From behind them, there was the faint sound of footsteps. Isis blew out the torch. They turned a sharp corner in the tight hallway and went up against the wall.

Sam stops to catch her breath. _I think I lost him_. Now comfortable with the distance between her and where she had met Auknadin, Sam walked forward with a calmer pace. She had only taken a few steps when she heard sound ahead of her. Thinking it might be Bakura and the Pharaoh, she readied herself spear in hand. She kept the spear pointed in front of her as she took small steps forward towards a tight turn in the dark hallway.

The moment she turned the corner, Sam was pulled forward by a hand that had grabbed the spear. As an automatic reaction, she let go of the spear and turned to gain distance, but a hand had grabbed the back of her cloak, and a foot tripped her own, making her fall to the floor. It had been one swift movement that completely disarmed Sam in a blink of an eye. It also only took a blink of an eye for Sam to recognize who had caught her as she had been spun to the ground. "Karim! Karim! It's me!" There was a pause. "Ms. Samantha?" He let go. "Oh, my apologies." Sam looked up as Isis relit her torch, revealing their faces. Karim helped her back to her feet. "I am truly sorry," he said "I thought you were an enemy." "It's fine" Sam said, "I thought the same thing." "What are you doing in the halls here?" Asked Isis "I thought you would already be with the Pharaoh." "I was unable to find the right room. It's like amaze down here. You know which way to go?" "Yes," said Seto "Our millennium items can sense when they are. Now let's go to help the Pharaoh. Shada and Auknadin must surely be low on Ba by now. I just hope they can hold on till we get there." Sam flinched when he mentioned Auknadin. They didn't know. And Sam didn't know if she should tell them. _Revealing Auknadin's connection to Seto at the wrong time could do more harm than good_ she thought. So Sam kept her mouth shut, as she followed them through the tunnels, responding to the pull of the millennium items.

"This is it" Karim said as they reached a doorway. It had no door so they had to stay against the walls and peek through so as not to be seen. They could see the Pharaoh helping hold up a Shada, while Mahad, as the dark magician, was dodging the attacks coming from Diabound. Sam could also see Manas creature, the dark magician Girl, protecting Shada and the Pharaoh. The underground shrine was a very large open area. On the other side of the walls, there were pillars holding up the ceiling that went around the entire edge of the room. "This doesn't look good" Seto said. "It looks like Bakura has taken Shadas millennium key. And I don't see Auknadin … lets go!" Seto tried to go forward, but Isis grabbed his arm. "Wait!" She hissed. "We need a plan first!" "We don't have time!" Said Karim, "they need us now." "…" Isis didn't know what else to say, so Sam spoke up. "How about I try and go around the side; try and get in close to Bakura?" "Don't be ridiculous!" Said Seto, "Like we could let you be by yourself!" "Look," Sam said sternly, "if all priests are confronting him, Bakura won't expect anyone else. And it's better to have a backup plan, right?" She looked between the 3 priests. "I could take a shot at him and he wouldn't see it coming-" "He's too strong for you!" Karim cut in. "yeah, well it could at least be a distraction so you guys could catch him off guard… or get away. It's an unspoken rule never to show all your cards at the start." "…What?" Sam sighed, "It's a saying that means you never let your enemy know all your tricks, or else how could you win?" They didn't argue. "I can see now that this part of the hallway borders the walls of the room. I'm going to see haw close I can get to Bakura." The priests started to protest, but Sam thought quickly and gave a white lie. "Besides, if you don't see Auknadin, he must be hiding too… probably with the same idea." And with that she hurried off and rounded a corner out of sight, leaving the priests to enter the battle without her.


	21. Chapter 21 'Darkness'

"Well well, look who it is." Bakura said, his voice echoing throughout the air around him. Sam couldn't see was going on at that moment, but every sound seemed to be right next to her, the way his voice echoed throughout the hall. The hallway was getting narrower every couple of feet, so Sam knew she was coming to the end of it. Every so often, she found a spot in the wall that was missing a brick and she could see what was going on outside. Every hundred feet or so, there was also a small doorway into the room. The hallways were dark and cold and Sam pulled her cloak around her tighter. At one of the openings were a brick was missing, Sam stopped to take a close look. she wasn't too far from the fight. If she were a few feet more down the hall, she would be directly across from where Bakura was standing_. I wonder how far along in the fight they are._ She thought _if I could just see some of the damage... Or maybe the stone tablet I could tell._ But the small opening in the wall was not big enough for her to see, so she continued down the hallway. Sam didn't have a fully detailed plan. There were so many factors she had to consider before even coming back, let alone joining the fight herself. The only thing Sam knew was that she cared about them. She wanted to protect them, help them if she could. She didn't know if it was right to call them friends, considering how they were just thrown together and never truly got the chance to understand each other… But their goal became hers, and she was happy to share all the burdens that came with it.

{A few days ago…}

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katie asked Sam over coffee that morning, before they left for California. "I know I've asked you before, and I do believe everything you told me; considering everything you've shown me... But are you sure this is the right thing to do? It's going to be different than when they came here. You'll be somewhere completely different, and do you even have a plan? I mean, yes you have "a plan", but how are you going to carry it out?" Sam stared down at her cup of coffee, just watching the cream swirl and she stirred it. "Sam, I'm not going to say this is too dangerous to get involved with, but it's not our world. We're also dealing with the matter of 'Time' too. What if, even with the best intentions, you help them and fix it all and the day is saved or whatever... what about the next generations? What about Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba and all the other characters from that point on?" Sam took a big sip of her nice hot coffee while She said softly "I guess... I will have to make sure that everything ends exactly how it should." "And how are you going to do that?" "I don't know!" Sam snapped at her quickly "... I'm sorry; I'm just confused and frustrated. No one can ever truly understand Time, and I don't think we're even close to having the whole world consider the thought of alternate realities like this. But… all I know is that **I KNOW OF IT** now and I've been changed because of it, so seeing as I'm the only one who can do anything I feel it becomes my responsibility." "Is that really how you see it?" "Yeah. I don't know how I'm going to fix things but I know I should be there. All I can truly do now is study all that I can on how things are meant to happen. I've been memorizing every single page of the seven Manga books that make up the story of the Millennium World. Studying the way Bakura fights and how the priest will react." Katie set some cash on the table for the waiter. "Well, if that is all you can do, then there's no use in beating yourself up about the 'What If s'." Sam laughed a little to herself. She picked up her purse as they walked towards the door of the restaurant. "I guess I'll just have to be ready for anything… Easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy." She said sarcastically through her smile.

Her cloak fluttered around Sam and she turned the last corner. She was now in the hallway behind the wall that was behind Bakura. Unlike the other walls, this one had less holes in it due to the to the fact that he didn't have as much damage from the fight; because not much had gotten past the Bakura's Diabound. There was only one small doorway on this side, so Sam slowed to a stop and proceeded to creep alongside the wall to the opening. She took a peek, this time being able to see everything. Some of the pillars around the tablet were on the ground, and the light that had been shining through the holes Mahad put in the ceiling were starting to fade. _That's not good, she thought the sun will be down soon, and then we won't be able to see Diabound at all_. She drew her attention to the tablet. Bakura had already summoned the Bone Snapper monster to protect it. Crouching over the millennium tablet was the creature he summoned. It was a giant, vicious snapping turtle with lots of sharp armor covered in human skulls. _Well I guess I can't get to the tablet now without being discovered._

"Here we come, Bakura!" Sam perked up at the sound of that voice. It was Seto's, and it was coming from beyond where she could see. From behind Bakura's Diabound, she was having trouble seeing past the air around the creature. It was sick with some strange gray mist. From where she was standing, even from behind a wall, she could feel the weight that it held. _The spirits of Kul Elna… they're already being used as a shield._

"Duos Dragon! Dragon flame!" The monster created by the combination of Seto's and Karim's Ka's lurched its head back as its mouth filled with flames. Mahad road on top of the creature and powered up his attack as well. As the two attacks burst out together, Bakura had Diabound counterattack. "Spiral Wave!" As the two forces collided, the room became hot, and the air thin. "Dammit," Seto said "there powers are equal. Duos isn't even able to push him back!" _He's right_. Karim thought _even by fusing our cause, we just barely scratched even... What can we do?_ Bakura laughed. "Hahahaha! Equal? You think are creatures are equal? What a laugh. If you're going to fuse your creatures, then I will fuse my attacks!" _No! How could we have forgotten?_ Before their eyes, the tale of Diabound appeared through the floor, power building up between its jaws. "Ahg! He's adding the Thunder Force to the Spiral Wave to double his power!" Isis yelled "Look out!" Suddenly, the power of Bakura's attack doubled and sliced through the dragons flame. _Damn… not enough time- "_AURA SWORD!" With nowhere to go, Duos Dragon could do nothing but attempt to deflect the attack with the sword of the Seto's Duos. "Haha, clever trick! Using a sword in place of a shield, but how long can you keep it up?" "He's... Right." Said Seto. Karim turned to him. "Seto, your arm!" Seto was holding his arm out like Duos Dragon was, his millennium Rod being held out as the sword was. Burn marks were beginning to appear on his arm: what was damaging the creature was also damaging Seto. "I won't be able to hold it back much longer." "Agh," Isis, who had been standing behind them with Simon holding up Shada, let go of him and leapt forward. "Spiria shield!" But it was too late. Diabounds attack blasted through Duos Dragon's sword, shattering it along with the creatures arm. "AAAGGGHHH!" Seto yelled out in pain, gripping his arm as he fell to his knees. Seto's right arm became limp at his side, and his fingers just barely able to grasp onto his Millennium Rod... "Now... Karim!" "Dragon flame!" Karim yelled _if we attack again quickly enough, there's a chance he won't be able to react in time. _Karim replayed the attack too quick for Bakura to rival it, and it smashed into the wall of souls protecting Diabound.

Sam saw this big burst of light and flame hit Bakura's shield. _Next, it'll burn a hole through it, giving the other creatures a chance to get past the shield._ Sam thought _that's supposed to be the end of Bakura. But..._ The shield wasn't smelting. The souls of Kul Elna were supposed to be melting away under the heat of the Dragon flame. But it wasn't happening. Sam's heart started to race _No... How? I have yet to join the battle! I haven't done anything!_ She frantically looked all around, for anything different. _The entire battle is as it should be! Every last attack has been spot on! How is it that the soul shield can withstand that blast? Where is its extra power coming from?_

Duos Dragon's attack faded away. The light of the flames died off. The air was cold, dark and silent. "No. Can this be?" Shada forced himself to his feet. "How can he be so powerful?" A quiet chuckle echoed from across the room. "What's wrong? Is that all you've got?" Bakura took a step forward. It echoed throughout the room. "You've taken your best shot it seems." He sneered. "Well, let's not waste any more time, shall we? I'll be taking the items now."

"No... That can't be... It can't…" Sam leaned on the wall for support, as it hit her. All the actions, all the battles and all the attacks had been kept the same. But… however small, some time had passed while the priests and Bakura were in her world. Time had passed when the Pharaoh and his remaining Spellcasters prepared and brought back the priests with Sam's help. Time had passed when Sam ran into the priests and argued with them in the dark hallways before they joined the fight. All the actions had been the same, but they had all been delayed. All those extra passages of time that Sam had added, despite how small they were, DID add up. Some of them were unavoidable and we're not in her control, but not all of them: Sam began to hate herself for it. All those moments had added up, and delayed the fight. The fight had started later than it was meant to, and that was why the shield remained unscathed. The sun was down, and the souls of Kul Elna had an infinite amount of darkness to feed upon. There was no way the priests could get through the shield now.


	22. Chapter 22 'Grasp'

She wanted to swear. She wanted to curse at herself and yell in frustration, but now was not the time. Sam decided she would do it later when everything was over_. I will make it right. I can fix this I can... _Only thing was she didn't know how. Just sitting in the dark behind the stone wall, listening to the echoes of Bakura's laughter, her mind reeled. She had hidden in the passage in order to be a surprise, a backup, in order to keep Bakura on his toes or catch him off guard if need be. But now it was clear that the priests didn't have the power to finish off Diabound, even if Sam launched a surprise attack from behind. _That will just get me killed._ Sam's mind was working as fast as it could, trying to figure out a logical solution without panicking too much. The last time she had thought up a quick solution like this, was when Bakura had found her instead of the other way around. She had seduced him, and pretended to worship him then_. But would that work now could it?_ Things started to click into place in Sam's mind. Could she use her previous encounter with Bakura to her advantage? _But I can't just pop out,_ she shook her head _that be too suspicious. I just happen to appear now at his greatest moment... If I came to his aid that would be different- _a little smile came across her face _I can do that_. Sam pulled some cards from her pocket. Of the monsters she pulled, she summoned Marshmellon and Breaker the Magical Warrior. _Listen_ she mentally spoke to them _you two need to go around to where the priests are. When you are right behind them, I want you to come out and attack Bakura. Pay no attention to Diabound, just go and for him. Marshmellon stay with the priests, just in case he attacks before Breaker can get to him. You need to protect them and take orders from them as if you were their creatures... But not Auknadin. _There was no way that little cave-in could hold him for that long, _so where could he be?_ Breaker nodded and took off down the hall. _Marshmellon_, she said taking out a card _you know what to do with this_? The animated blob swallowed the card whole. _Okay go, and hurry!_

"Farewell." Bakura said with a smile. "Diabound end their existence! I'm tired of looking at these lowly rats!" Diabound started to build up its shockwave and sent it flying towards the priests and the Pharaoh.

"No!" The Pharaoh ran out in front of all of them. Duos Dragon couldn't withstand attack and neither could the priests, and he knew it. He wouldn't let Bakura get them all at once. "My King no!" The Pharaoh closed his eyes tight and braced for the blast. The light got brighter beyond his eyelids, but never hit him. _What's going on?_ He opened his eyes to find a large goo-like creature stretching itself out just a foot in front of him, and it was taking the blast itself. Facing Diabound, marshmellon opened its mouth wide and revealed the card it had in its mouth.: Draining Shield, a Trap card that not only negated the attack, but also copied the monsters power and gave it to the opposing side.

"What is this?" The Pharaoh said, as the light of Diabound attack faded away. I _Feel strong, full of energy._ He looked back to his priests and saw that they all felt the same. Shada was even standing tall on his feet. _Looks like whatever that was not only protected us, but returned us all to full power._ The Pharaoh looked back at the creature. It had turned back into a small pink blob, with a few scorch marks along its sides, but otherwise still in tact. "Thank you" he said to the creature "where did you come from?" It couldn't have been summoned by any of his priests because they looked just as surprised as he was. "What the hell is that?" The Pharaoh heard Bakura say across the room. It appeared that Bakura had been caught off guard by it too. "Where'd that thing come from?" Shada asked the other priests. "… It must have been Ms. Samantha" Isis whispered, so that only Shada would hear. "She came down here with us and is hiding somewhere. I don't know how she did it, but not only did she stop his attack, but also got us all our power back." Isis turned to look at the creature in front of the Pharaoh. Something flew past Isis from behind, just missing her and Shada.

Breaker the Magical Warrior charged as fast as he could directly at Bakura, leaping over Diabound for direct attack. "What? Where-?" Bakura was about to summon another monster to protect himself, when Chaos Sorcerer appeared in front of him, and blocked the attack. The monster was just stopped directly in front of him. From behind, Bakura heard a voice say "I guess I made it." Out from the shadows stepped Sam, her cloak fluttered behind her as she walked forward toward Bakura.

"Ah, I was wondering what happened to you." Bakura said with a smirk, glancing at Sam over his shoulder. "I guess you are still useful after all." Sam's Chaos Sorcerer pushed Breaker the Magical Warrior back, and it retreated back to Shada's side. "Not a bad creature you have" Bakura said looking at Sam's sorcerer. "It seems you've gotten stronger since the last we met." Sam stepped onto the platform next to Bakura as he turned to look at her "physically stronger as well." He smirked. "You're just in time!" He gestured to the battle in front of him "I was just about to give the final blow! Hahaha!"

"What's going on?" The Pharaoh asked his priests. "What is she doing over there? And where did those monsters come from?" "They were not summoned by any of us." Karim said. "Perhaps… Auknadin is in here hiding after all?" "What does she think she's doing?" Shada said. "It seems Bakura is not threatened by her presence." Seto commented. "My King, what is going on?" Mahad said turning to his highness. "How is it that Ms. Samantha is among us?" "She returned to us on her own when she found that history had been changed." Seto said to Mahad. "But what is she doing protecting Bakura?" The Pharaoh said narrowing his eyes.

"Well now," Bakura yelled so all could hear, wrapping his arm around Sam's waist. "It seems that fate is still on my side. Your little a surprise attack would have succeeded if you had realized I have a follower: you could have played around it! But the fun and games are over!" "Ms. Samantha what are you doing?" Mahad yelled across the room "A friend of yours?" Bakura turned to Sam. "… I tricked him into training me a few days ago. When they found me when we returned here, they thought I had fallen from the sky as a gift of the gods. They were quite gullible." Sam forced a smirk. "Ah. Well then," Bakura said "I guess this stings for them all the more. Diabound!" The monster started charging up its shockwave again. "Here it comes!" The Pharaoh said. With all of their regrained power, all of the priests some summoned another monster. "No matter how strong he is," Karim said "he shouldn't be able to get past all of our monsters with one blast." "We'll see about that!" Bakura yelled. The snakelike tail of Bakura's Diabound started charging up a Thunder Force within its jaw. "You seem to be forgetting that I get to attacks the price of one! Diabound, att-"

Sam let loose an energy blade across the front of Bakura's chest, cutting the ropes that held the three millennium items he had stolen from around his neck in the process. "AAAAAGGH!" Bakura let out a cry of pain has he began to bleed, falling to the floor grasping his chest. "I'll be taking these now." Bakura looked up to see Sam holding all three millennium items in her hand. "Why you-Agh!" Moving was very painful to Bakura. The damage done to him also affected the spirits of the Kul Elna he had absorbed, dissipating the Shield. He stood back up and tried to lunge for her, but she jumped back out of his reach. "D- Diabound!" Sam turned to see his monster coming for her. She made a dash for the Pharaoh and his priests, but the creature quickly had her in its grasp. Lifting her high above the ground Diabound gave her a squeeze. Sam screamed in pain, feeling her bones straining; like they were about to break. "Attack!" The Pharaoh yelled. All of the creatures attacked the Bakura together, while Mahad, as the Dark Magician, flew specifically over to Diabound's hand to try and get her out, while the monster was distracted. "Hang on!" He said while trying to pry open the creatures grasp. Sam found herself able to just barely move one arm. With all her desperation, she pulled one arm out of the creatures clutches, holding out the Millennium Ring towards Mahad. He reached for it.

Diabound's other hand slammed into Mahad, throwing him across the room. He hit the back wall and fell to the floor, rubble and dust flying everywhere. The rest of the creatures had retreated. "Mahad are you alright?" Isis yelled. "I am now." Mahad flew out the dust clouds back into the open air, the Millennium Ring in his hand. "No!" Bakura yelled angrily. Mahad retied the Millennium Ring around his neck. "Oh yeah!" Mana cheered "Now that master Mahad isn't holding back AND has the millennium Ring, you're done for you smelly thief!" She made a face at Bakura. "I always blocked way the rings power with my own," Mahad said "but seeing as I know longer have a physical body," the Ring began to glow "I see no need not to use its power. I think it is time to stop all of this." Gripping his staff tightly, Mahad flew directly at Diabound.

Sam could barely see what was happening, the edges of her vision darkening. The creature was holding her so tightly she was having trouble breathing. In the clearest part left to her vision, Sam was able to make out Mahad flying straight for them.

"Thousand Magical Blasts!" Mahad commanded, swinging his staff faster than the eye could catch. Balls of energy appeared from everywhere and shot directly through Diabound. Bakura's cry became so loud it almost covered up at the sound of his creature hitting the back wall. Immediately, Diabound's grasp on Sam was released and she fell to the floor. Feeling numb and bruised all over from the creatures grasp, all she could do was lie there and breathe relief into her lungs. "Ha!" Mahad yelled, as he drove his staff into the creatures chest. "Diffusion Wave!" Diabound glowed from within and combusted on the spot. A bright light filled the room from the explosion, and died away slowly with the last of the creatures growls. The only thing left crying in pain was Bakura, crouched on the floor and shaking violently.

Sam slowly was able to pull herself up to a sitting position on the floor. Her vision regained, she could see that Bakura was covered in blood, his chest all red and dripping. He lifted his head up, his face all twisted with pain and fury. "I… won't stop u-untill…" he stood up slowly, still shaking and bloody "… until you're all dead at my feet!" he yelled. Still being able to control the turtle-like monster covering the stone slab, the creature shot out a condensed beam of orange light and aimed it all around the room. The attack was wild and frantic, slicing through pillars right in the left. Mahad swooped down and lifted Sam out of the way of some falling debris. "Hold on tight", he said, flying back towards the priests. Mahad gave Sam a happy grin "It is good to see you again-AGH!" Mahad and Sam were shot out of the air and into a crumbling pillar, but not from Bakura's monster. The blasts came from behind the priests, from the doorway of the entrance to the chamber… where Auknadin stood with his creature, the Terror King Archfiend.


	23. Chapter 23 'Advantages'

Into Reality: The Beginning. Chapter 23, 'Advantages'

"Master Auknadin what is the meaning of this?" Seto asked, as Auknadin walked past the others who were trying to pull Sam and Mahad out of the rubble. "Not to worry." He said with a dark upbeat tone "I'm just going to put everything back in its proper order." Seto seem to believe him, but the Pharaoh could tell that his tone of voice was different. "What are you doing?" He asked cautiously. Back in the corner, Karim and the others removed the last of rubble holding Mahad Sam down.

Sam pulled in a sharp breath between her teeth. _Ow ow ow._ Her head was throbbing and her body was bruised, even more than before. "Are you all right?" Said Mahad. There was blood trickling out of his mouth Sam noticed; he had taken most of the blast himself. "Yeah, mostly." She replied handing the millennium Key to Shada. "Thank the gods." Shada said. He pulled Sam to her feet while Karim and Isis knelt next to Mahad. Isis summoned the mystical elf and began restoring him. Sam looked around, "Shada, what happened?" Then her eyes locked onto Auknadin. "Oh no."

Before anyone could blink, Auknadin blasted Bakura into the wall behind the tablet, his turtle monster fading into dust. "You've caused enough trouble. Just die, would you?" Bakura vomited blood. _Wait a minute..._ Sam thought. _If Bakura dies without holding the millennium Ring... _Bakura fell like a crumpled heap back onto the stone tablet. "This isn't right." Sam muttered. "What?" Shada looked to her. Sam gripped the millennium puzzle. _He can't die just yet._

No one was stopping him. They had no reason to. For all they knew Auknadin had just shot Mahad and Sam out of the way of a blast from Bakura's monster. After all, he was the most experienced, the most trusted of the six priests. However, Bakura was just in the way of his plan. Bakura cried out in pain "A-Accursed old man!" He coughed "what do you think you're doing?" **HE** had turned Auknadin. **HE** and made him into a pawn. But Auknadin wasn't playing along. "You're in the Way." Auknadin's tone had deepened even more. "Terror King Archfiend, locusts storm." The creature let out a burst of locusts, but someone let out a yell from behind Auknadin. "Chaos blast!"

Sam's Chaos sorcerer shot the Beatles back to the archfiend. Auknadin turned to face her, only to find she had re-summoned Breaker the magical warrior. Auknadin quickly sidestepped the sword attack, only to realize Sam was suddenly at his back with an energy blade at the ready.

"Ms. Samantha! What are you doing?" Seto ran over and grabbed her blade arm. "Have you lost your mind?" "Oh, someone's lost their mind, but it isn't me." She made eye contact with Auknadin. Mahad was back to full strength and flying over, as were the rest of the priests. "Stop where you are!" She yelled. And they did. Sam glanced to the Pharaoh. "You all need to stay back." Auknadin grinned. "Don't worry, they won't be going anywhere." That's when Sam realized they hadn't stopped because she had told them; they were frozen. "I had hoped that would work on you as well. Pity." Sam backed away slowly. She didn't have the advantage anymore. _I don't think I ever did. _She backed up... Right into the arms of his Dark necromancer.

"So people from other times are unaffected," he said as he took Seto's millennium Rod. "Good to remember." Auknadin advanced back towards Sam. "You really should have just stayed home, dear." He said taking the puzzle from her while his other creature took the ring back from Mahad. "Did you really think you would make a difference?"

When Sam had called out, Shada had stopped, but he was sure it was of his own accord. Shada tried to move his foot. It worked. _How is this possible_? He thought. Still he did not move, not wanting to reveal his mobility just yet. He wanted to understand.

Auknadin went for the other millennium items, Walking first to Karim. "Why did you stop me from finishing off Bakura?" He asked over his shoulder. Sam clenched her jaw not wanting to tell him anything. "You might want to reconsider answering." Sam saw the terror King archfiend's claws holding tight to the frozen Mahad. "... He has to die in a certain way." "I see... So, trying to stop history from changing? But Ms. Samantha, if the end result is the same and he dies, what does it matter how?" "... It's the little things that count the most."

Something was radiating warmth in the pocket of Shadas robes. _What?_ Not taking his eyes off of Sam and Auknadin, Shada took his hand that was out of their sight and put it into his pocket. _This is..._ Shada took out the phone that he had secretly kept; the one Ms. Samantha had given him that day. At first he hadn't known why he had kept it, but there it was, warm in his hand: A piece of her world. Shada tightened his grip on the two items he held: his key and the gift he had kept, the one that prevented him from being frozen in time. Auknadin came for his millennium item. He would not get it.

Auknadin was blasted back all the way to the tablet, and to be caught by his terror King archfiend just before hitting a pillar.

"What?" Sam turned to see Shada, still very able to move. But he wasn't the one to blast Auknadin, it was his new creature. Auknadin's dark necromancer hissed. "What-" Sam was dumbfounded. "-The hell? How is that possible?" Behind Shada, giant wings flapped. The wings of a creature that wasn't supposed to exist for generations. Sam stared at it in awe. "STARDUST DRAGON?"

I'm SOOOO Sorry that the chapter is so short, after not updating for how long? 3-4 months? More? To everyone still reading, Thank you for still being here, and again:

I'M SORRY! *Deep bow*


	24. Chapter 24 'Red and Black'

"Shada?" Sam was sooo confused. _How did he summon that?_ Shada came over to her. Reading the surprise on her face, he said "it appears my Ka, the creature of my soul has changed." "But… how? And how are you still able to move?" "I believe it is because I still have this." He showed her the phone "I had not wanted to part with your gift, and it seems fate had good reason." Shada touched Seto with the phone, who was still frozen just feet away, still in the position of when he had grabbed Sams arm. He blinked. "Wh-" Seto looked around to Sam "what happened?"

Akhenadens creature set him down safely at the foot of the tablet. "Nice try, and clever… Shada." He was panting. He never expected anything so powerful to come from Shada; one of the more peaceful of the priests.

Shada looked to his monster. The stardust dragon was glowing with a sort of shimmering light, and it illuminated the entire underground. Not making it as bright as day, but making them able to see every detail through the darkness. "What IS it?" Seto asked. Sam smiled. "It's called the Stardust Dragon, and I think it might be able to turn this around." Shada nodded. "But before we can deal with Akhenaden," he started towards the pharaoh, "we need to free the others." Seto looked over to Akhenaden, whose face was full of rage. "Master Akhenaden?!" Shada reached for the pharaoh, auk yelled out, "Terror king, locus storm! Destroy him!"

The swarm went straight for Shada, but his creature intercepted, batting the bugs away with just its wing. The terror king was hit by its own attack, and faded to dust. Shada touched the phone to the pharaoh's arm, and he was awake. "You will not stop me!" Akhenaden screamed. "I will make my son king and none will stop me!" He knelt over the tablet, placing the items into it. But Akhenaden didn't seem to notice the other person in the room, the one he attacked, OTHER than the priests.

Bakura lunged at Akhenaden from his bloody spot beside the tablet, grasping Akhenadens neck with all the strength he could muster. They both fell back onto the tablet. "THIS… IS…MY VICTORY… MY VILLAGE…the power of Zorc belongs to ME!" Bakura pressed hard on Akhenadens neck, holding him down. Shada and the others now fully awake, watched, not sure if they should interfere. "Master Akhenaden!" Seto yelled. He began to run to him, but Shada grabbed his arm. "Shada let go! Master Akhenaden is-" "he is no longer the master, Seto…" Shada moved his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry." They watched on, as both their enemies fought. Bakura wrenched the millennium ring from Akhenadens hands. "This… is mine." Tossing the rope around his neck, Bakura breathed in the power of the ring. "Ah, that's better." His one hand still on Akhenadens neck, his other one reached forward again. "And, so is this." Bakura grabbed the edges of the millennium eye, and began to pull. Akhenaden screamed, but it wasn't the scream of pain that Bakura expected, and he wasn't quick enough to react. Akhenaden pulled a dagger out of his sleeve and thrusted it into Bakuras chest, as his rage-filled scream filled the underground.

Akhenaden rolled out of Bakuras now weak grip and off the tablet, as Bakura fell forward onto it. "Damn…" the thief spat. His arms shaking, Bakura desperately tried to pick himself off the tablet; he was lying on the dagger, pushing it in further. He forced himself to flip over, his back to the tablet- looking up to the sealing. Through one of the holes, he could see the sky full of stars. Bakura laid his hand over the millennium Ring. "The Darkness night… this power… is mine. The darkness… will always be … mine… Pharaoh…"

And Bakura breathed no more.

Akhenaden pulled the millennium ring from Bakura is neck. "Petty thief, you didn't deserve such power". He kicked Bakura to make sure he was dead, then shoved him off the tablet. "This power, only my son is worthy of it."

Sam had never watched someone be killed. It hurt, she had been one of his fangirls after all. She couldn't control the silent tears on her face. Sam secretly hoped the priests wouldn't notice. But Akhenaden did. "... What's the matter Ms. Samantha?" Came his mocking tone. 'Mourning a thief? Or did I just change the future by killing him? As I said, it didn't really matter how he died as long as he did.' Sam grew angry. "Don't mock me Akhenaden", she looked to the body lying beside the tablet. "... I think you've just made it the way it was going to be. He died holding the millennium ring, and for the sake of this world's future, I hope it was enough." "Why does that matter, I have it now." Akhenaden said putting it into the tablet. "Like I'd tell you." She said "but you don't have all of them, too bad for you."

Akhenaden looked up from the tablet. All of the priests were free, along with the pharaoh and Ms. Samantha. All of them had creatures summoned; and he had none. He only had one option. "Not for long." Akhenaden said ripping out the millennium eye. "Great god of darkness!" He yelled, kneeling down over the head of the tablet "I am missing but one item, please give me the power to attain it and grant your freedom!" The millennium I clicked into place.

The ground began to shake violently, and the broken pillars began to crumble. Mana looked up to see the ceiling cracking "uh, pharaoh..." She pointed. "I think we need to get out of here." Pieces of the ceiling began to fall. "Everyone out!" The pharaoh yelled. Seto looked back "but Master Akhenaden-" "Seto we need to go!" Shada pulled on his arm. Grudgingly, Seto gave in. Rubble and dust caused Akhenaden to disappear from view. Sam called back her monsters to her cards. Mana and Sam took the hands of the dark magician girl, and were pulled into the air as the magician flew through a hole in the ceiling. Seto and Shada went on the back of the Stardust dragon, as Karim, Isis and Simon mounted the curse of dragon. "Where is the pharaoh?" Sam asked. Mana looked about. "AH! There!" Mahad had pulled to the pharaoh through the ceiling as well.

The guards below on the ground were running to get away from the crumbling ground beneath their feet. Sam noticed it was getting closer. "Mana were losing altitude!" "What?" " We're falling!" The dark magician girl wasn't strong enough to hold the two of them for very long, and was slowly falling towards the ground. "Ms. Samantha!" Seto yelled. Setup and Shada flew over on the Stardust dragon. "Take my hand!" Sam grabbed it and he pulled her up. "Mana!" Sam called back "It's okay!" she said "my monster can hold me alone!" The dark magician girl had stopped falling. Mana was safe.

As the dust began to settle, the group returned to the uneven ground below. The guards were scattered, but some hadn't made it away in time. "is it over?" Karim said, dismounting his dragon. Mahad set the pharaoh down. "Doubtful." Sam jumped off the Stardust dragon. "Isis, how fast can your mystical elf replenish a person's strength?" Isis looked to her "about a minute to complete a single person. Why?" Sam grabbed her cards "because this is when the fight really starts. Hurry!" Sam shuffled through the spells in her deck, and took out a couple that restored 'life points'. The ground began to rumble again "hurry, he's coming!"

As Isis's elf restored the Pharaoh and Karim, Sam went around and used her spell cards on the others. Sam went lastly to Mahad. "…I've never seen one's powers mature as quickly as yours." He said "I'm proud of you." Sam smiled, pride welling up inside. There wasn't any time for conversation. "How is your power leveled Mahad?" She asked. Mahad looked past Sam and the others "…it will have to be enough."

Behind them all, appearing out of the ground, was the tablet… with a passenger riding atop of it. "Who is that?" Isis asked, as they all withdrew... gaining distance. A head of red, wild hare lifted up to show a dark black mask accompanied by one familiar eye. Akhenaden.

Stardust Dragon, Spiria, Curse of Dragon, Duos, Mahad, and Sam's Chaos Sorcerer took to the front lines. "Enough games", came the warped voice of Akhenaden. "It's time for you to die, pharaoh." Sam's marshmellon reappeared in front of the king. "Not yet." Sam said, stepping forward. _Not yet_. "Surrender Akhenaden!" The pharaoh yelled "We have our strength back, and you cannot take us all!" The guards fell into formation on both sides of the priests, spears and swords ready. Akhenaden held out his new black cloak with his warped, claw-like hands. "Foolish brat! Why would I? I have the darkness! What need I fear, when darkness is an army in its self?!"

From the blackness of Akhenaden's cloak came a swarm of horrifying creatures: Warped and melted looking bodies with skull-like faces dressed in black and red armor. There seemed to be no end to them, as they filled up the night sky. Sam held her breath in fear, as the army attacked them from above.


	25. Chapter 25 'Broken'

"Cosmic flair!"

"Aura sword!"

"Dragon flame!"

"Chaos blast!"

"Dark magic attack!"

The attacks blasted away large amounts of the dead Army, but not nearly enough for others passed by the attacks... Having straight for the priests. Karim kicked up a spear from a dead guard. "Pharaoh!" Karim tossed the spear to the king. He took It; turning immediately to face one of the dead, slicing it in two. Shada grabbed a spear, Seto picked up a sword. Those monsters and they are masters fought for their lives. The battle was on.

"Didn't this already happen somewhere before?" Mana said over the roar of the fighting, once again fighting back to back with Sam. She hit one of the dead with her staff. "What ever gave you that idea?" Sam yelled back sarcastically letting loose a few energy blades.

The battle raged on. There was soldiers scattered everywhere, both fighting on and dead on the ground. The priests monsters were getting most of the dead Army, but not all of the creatures could do so for long enough. Karim's Curse of the Dragon was ganged up on and stabbed it all at once. The dragon fell, and Karim faltered. He was running out of Ba. Shada worked its way over to the weary priest. "Get up Karim!" Shada To the army at bay as Karim struggled to his feet.

Sam cursed aloud - a searing pain was coming from her chest. … _What-_ her legs gave out _-the hell?_ Isis had joined the two of them, and used her Spiria shield as she tried to help Sam to her feet. "What's going on?" Sam asked. "Your creature was destroyed!" yelled Mana over her shoulder "it was outnumbered." _So THIS … is what that feels like._ Sam struggled back up "you must hide!" Isis said "you won't have much chance without your creature"! Sam smirked through her pain "… there's… plenty more where that came from." Sam was reaching for her deck, when she saw a swarm- heading towards Shada and Karim. Stardust was too far from its master; as one of the dead ran a spear clear through Shada's shoulder. He dropped his millennium key. It disappeared.

"Dark magic attack!" Mahad blasted as many as he could, but he was exhausted. The Pharaoh was holding his own, and protected by marshmellon so Mahad could attack freely with less worry. But still... Something bothered him. _Something is wrong with this battle._ Then a sensation hit him, Shada had lost his item. _Damn_ he cursed. Mahad flew back down to the Pharaoh's side. "Shada lost the key" he said, while blasting away more of the army. "What?!" The Pharaoh turned on the spot to find his priests "we need to regroup!" "Yes!" Mahad lifted up the Pharaoh and took him over to where the others had gathered.

"M-my king, forgive me." Shada said grabbing his arm tightly as the Pharaoh came to his side. "Don't dwell on it. We need clear minds and a new plan." Together, Mahad, Isis and Mana used their powers/creatures and enclosed the group in a barrier. Simon and Sam began to bandage Shada's arm. Mahad felt it then. "I'm a fool." He muttered. "Mahad?" Karim asked. "Seto is gone. He's not on the battlefield, and hasn't been for some time."

Suddenly Akhenaden appeared just outside the barrier. "You think you can defend forever?" Akhenaden and stroked his hand down the barrier side leaving scratch marks on its glowing transparent surface. "Where is Seto?!" The Pharaoh yelled, marching up to face him. "Seto is no longer any concern of yours." Was Akhenaden's calm retort.

"At the Palace right?" Sam said, not even looking up from her work of bandaging Shada's shoulder. "You transported him to the palace." She turned to look at Akhenaden. She had his full attention. "Ms. Samantha?" Shada looked at her questioningly as she rose to her feet. A grunt came from behind Akhenaden's mask. "You're for knowledge has become ever so troublesome, and you have barely even used it. Why?" "I can't, or else I might change the outcome too much, which I already said. Just how thick are you?" She spat the words in his face. "... This army of yours is almost gone - they still outnumber us, but we have more stamina." "And yet I hold this." Akhenaden held up the millennium key in his blackened claws. "The moment it fell from your weak little grip, it flew into my hands. I called it and it came." He was peering over Sam's shoulder to Shada, whose face was full of anger. "Just because your creature became something of the future should, don't think you're untouchable. Our encounter with another time, another world… it affected all of us. You've never been anything special." Akhenaden stepped away from the barrier. Something big was warping up from him, like a living shadow climbing for freedom. Separating from Akhenaden, a form expanded took shape and color. The only thing about it that resembled Akhenaden was its claws the rest of it was something else entirely. Sam's mind went into a spin of curse words, as she stared into the face of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms.

"Lord Priest! You must leave!" A guard called to Seto, as he ran through the palace. The ground was constantly shaking, and the structure around him was crumbling. But Seto kept going; he had to get to her first. _Kisara..._ _If the master really has betrayed us, then he'll want her power._ Akhenaden had transported Seto to the palace, and told him the truth. He was Akhenaden's son. He had royal blood… but now was not the time for Seto to question his beliefs, his reality or his world_. It doesn't matter._ He thought. _He has still betrayed us all, nothing will change that… but would I have felt differently had I known earlier?_ Seto pulled his thoughts away from the grief and sadness that was coming for him. He continued forward through the stone falling around him - towards the one thing that kept his dark thoughts at bay. Just the light, the kindness in her eyes had given him hope. He couldn't, he wouldn't let that light be distinguished. _Kisara._

"Swords of revealing light!"

Sam whipped the card out of her deck faster than the priests could blink. But instead of just surrounding Raviel with them, she surrounded the barrier with more protection. _However long that lasts.. Three turns, so… three minutes …ish._ The dead army was swarming and pressing against the barrier, and Raviel pounded and clawed at it. Isis slumped to the ground. Despite its strength, every blow to the barrier she could feel as a hammer to her heart. Her stamina was almost gone. "Now what?" Karim said, sitting on the ground and breathing heavily. The Pharaoh walked quickly over to his two weakened priests, setting a hand on each shoulder. "Mahad, transfer some of my Ba to them." "But my king-" Karim protested "don't argue with me Karim" the Pharaoh said, "no one is going to fight alone and die while I still have Ba. We fight together." "Yes sir." "But exactly what can we do? The dead army we can take care of, but not with that giant demonic creature lurking." Said Shada. Mahad spoke up "Ms. Samantha, is there anything you know we can use to us any more damage to our timeline?"

Sam hadn't taking her eyes off of Raviel the entire time. If this were a duel, the dead army would be a giant wall of tokens, but with some decent attack points. And then there was Rafael on the field and his ability. That was going to be the main problem. "Samantha." Shada tapped her on the shoulder, "are you all right?" "Yes. Just trying to think of a strategy. I know that monster, I've seen it used before." "Really?" Shada sounded slightly relieved. The others came closer to Sam. "What is its weakness?" The Pharaoh asked. "I don't think it has a specific thing that is a weakness… but the trick is the dead army. The creature is called Raviel, Lord of phantasms. For a main attack, it sacrifices other creatures on its team for a temporary power boost, and after each big blow it goes back to its regular power level and would need to power up again. That army is basically monster fuel and lots of it." So we need to get rid of the rest of the army quickly, and keep Raviel distracted and away." Isis said. "But it is still a problem," Sam continued "because Raviel has roughly the same amount of firepower as Obelisk, even without the power boost." "What?!" The Pharaoh was not happy with that news. "So even if I could summon obelisk, it wouldn't be enough?" "No, it wouldn't." Sam said "a head on battle seldom works with it…" then she had an idea. "But then again no one duels with just attack strength alone… and I think I have a good idea." She turned to Shada "because Akhenaden's wrong. About your abilities, and your creature. That is why we'll defeat Raviel."

"… Tell me what to do."

"Master Seto!" Kisara saw him coming to her cell through the dust. Her room caved in near the window, she had not much room to stand. Seto yanked at the bolts that held the cell shut. "What's happening?!" "The palace is collapsing," he said, opening the cell door. "Are you all right?" "Yes." "Then come, we must hurry before he finds you!" "Finds me? Who?" Seto felt a pinch on his heart "my father." Kisara didn't respond, "… He has betrayed us all, and will come for the creature of your soul." Seto took her hand. "Hurry! We must get to the main grounds before the ceiling collapses on top of us!" They ran past the collapsing pillars and falling stone and turned into a different hallway. "I'm sorry." Kisara said suddenly. Seto looked at her, her eyes watching his expression. "For what you've lost." She said, for she knew his heart was broken. Seto didn't realize, but he grasped her hand tighter then. Rubble sealed off the way they had come. "What I've lost," Seto said, focusing again on the way out "I never truly had to begin with."


End file.
